Ex-Hong Kong district councillor pleads not guilty to charges over HK$740,000 scam
Wong Chun-yeung charged over fraud syndicate that cheated nine people in ‘guess who I am’ phone scams in 2023
A former Hong Kong district councillor has pleaded not guilty after being accused of involvement in a fraud syndicate that cheated nine people out of HK$740,000 (US$95,400) and will remain on remand after nearly two years in custody as his trial continues.
Wong Chun-yeung, 30, a former Islands district councillor from the opposition camp, on Friday pleaded not guilty before Deputy District Judge Winnie Lau Yee-wan to nine counts of conspiracy to defraud.
Prosecutors also charged him with another 10 counts of money laundering as alternatives to his main offence, which Wong also denied.
The defendant told the court last year that he intended to plead guilty after a plea bargain with the prosecution.
But in the latest hearing, he denied conning nine people in “guess who I am” phone scams where the fraudster pretends to be a family member of the victim in need of money.
He allegedly collected between HK$50,000 and HK$200,000 from each victim between May 29, 2023 and June 5 of that year.
The prosecution said each offence was punishable by at least three years in prison and that it would apply to the court for a stiffer sentence if the defendant was convicted.