Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency charges 4 over wages for ParknShop ‘ghost workers’

Suspects allegedly conspired to deceive company over wages amounting to more than HK$3.2 million by falsifying attendance records

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The suspects were alleged to have conspired to defraud the supermarket chain by falsely representing that 13 casual workers had worked at a distribution centre. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 10:42pm, 7 Oct 2024Updated: 11:56pm, 7 Oct 2024

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency has charged a former senior supervisor of the ParknShop supermarket chain and three ex-contractor and casual workers for allegedly conspiring to deceive the company over wages amounting to more than HK$3.2 million (US$411,980) by using attendance records of “ghost workers”.

Lau Kin-pong, 42, former senior supervisor of the chain; Tai Kin-man, 41, former assistant manager of Earnward Warehouse; Wong Wai-fung, 25; and Wong Pak-kan, 26, both former casual workers of a ParknShop contractor, jointly face one count of conspiracy to defraud between June 2019 and April 2021, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said on Monday.

The chain operated a product distribution centre in Fo Tan, which was responsible for sorting and packaging online orders for distribution.

It hired a contractor, Logistics Network Management, to provide casual workers, while Earnward Warehouse was responsible for supervising the operation of Logistics Network.

Lau was responsible for handling the administrative duties of the distribution centre, while Tai was in charge of verifying casual workers’ attendance.

Wong Wai-fung and Wong Pak-kan were hired by Logistics Network as casual workers to recruit and oversee other casual workers at the distribution centre.