HONG KONG — Two former project managers of ATAL Engineering, a company founded by Otto Poon Lok-to, husband of former Hong Kong justice secretary Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, have been charged with fraud. Yip Hing-fai, 45, and Wong Chun-tung, 43, are accused of fraudulently awarding maintenance contracts worth over HK$6.3 million (US$808,820) for sewage treatment facilities.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) charged the pair with multiple fraud counts on Tuesday. They have been released on bail and are due to appear in Eastern Court for their first hearing on Thursday.
Both Yip and Wong previously worked for ATAL Engineering, a Hong Kong-listed firm established in 1977 by Otto Poon. The company operates sewage treatment facilities under contract from the Drainage Services Department.
From April 2017 to August 2021, Yip allegedly submitted 18 falsified quotation analysis reports, causing ATAL to award more than HK$4.7 million in maintenance orders to two subcontractors. Wong, on the other hand, is accused of orchestrating the award of 13 maintenance orders totaling over HK$1.6 million to a third subcontractor between February 2019 and November 2020.
The investigation was launched after a corruption complaint revealed that several subcontractors listed in the reports did not provide the quoted prices. Both ATAL and the Drainage Services Department cooperated fully with the investigation, with ATAL publicly pledging its support for the ongoing ICAC inquiry.
