Tai Po fire victim and petition organiser Jason Kong to face fraud and money-laundering case in higher court

Jason Kong, a Wang Fuk Court fire survivor who organised a petition for fellow victims, and his wife, Rosanna Cheung, will have their fraud and money-laundering case transferred to Hong Kong’s District Court.

Kong, 64, and Cheung, 62, appeared at Shatin Magistrates’ Courts two days after police charged them. They face two counts of conspiracy to defraud and one count of dealing with property known or believed to represent the proceeds of an indictable offence, commonly described as money laundering.

The prosecution applied to move the case to the District Court. The couple will return to court on October 6 while prosecutors prepare the transfer documents. If convicted in the higher court, they face up to seven years in prison. Proceedings at the magistrates’ level would carry a maximum sentence of three years when more than one offence is involved.

Both defendants received bail on a HK$10,000 cash bond. They must live at their reported address, remain in Hong Kong, avoid contact with prosecution witnesses and report to a police station once a week.

Court documents allege that Kong and Cheung, who are directors of an interior design and engineering company, presented false documents to HSBC in 2022. Prosecutors say the documents supported applications for the Special 100% Guarantee Loan, a government relief scheme launched in early 2020 for companies facing difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic. The alleged loans totalled HK$231,300 and HK$100,000, and the money-laundering allegation relates to those funds.

The arrests followed Kong’s petition to administrators of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, urging them to meet homeowners. He and Cheung survived the blaze that tore through the Tai Po housing estate in November last year, killing 168 people and displacing thousands. Kong had served on the owners’ corporation management committee and had publicly called for an investigation into the fire and consideration of on-site redevelopment. After his release from police custody, he said he would no longer speak to the press.

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I will no longer speak to the press.