A former immigration officer who became an assistant teacher at a Lutheran school for deaf pupils has been jailed for 28 days after being convicted of three fraud offences over his failure to disclose an Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation and prosecution. The sentence was imposed at a magistrates’ court in West Kowloon on 15 September 2026.
The charged conduct ran from 29 July 2022 to 3 December 2024. The prosecution case was that the defendant concealed the matter while working as a teacher, inducing the school not to suspend him or take disciplinary action. That, the prosecution alleged, allowed him to gain a benefit or left the school facing disadvantage or a substantial risk of it.
The sentencing magistrate said the concealment had been deliberate from the outset. He found that the defendant knew the school would not employ a teacher who was under investigation, yet signed the contract and took the risk in order to earn a salary.
The court treated the school’s public funding and the higher expectations placed on teachers as aggravating context. Although the principal had been satisfied with the defendant’s teaching, the magistrate said the reputational harm to the school outweighed his contribution. The defendant had previously worked in immigration, insurance and education.
Defence counsel sought a community-service order, citing a positive social-service report, the defendant’s good character, volunteer work and support for pupils requiring additional assistance. The report recommended between 81 and 160 hours of community service. The magistrate rejected that sentence and said the defendant had not shown genuine remorse, having maintained his defence and adopted what the court regarded as a rigid interpretation of the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s requirements.
The defendant’s account was that commission personnel had warned him not to disclose the investigation to others. The magistrate did not accept that interpretation as justification for concealing it from the school. The defendant was granted bail pending appeal on a HK$20,000 cash condition and must remain in Hong Kong and avoid contact with prosecution witnesses.