Public housing applicant convicted by court for making false statement

     A spokesman for the Housing Department (HD) today (January 18) said that the HD always spares no effort in combating false declarations made during applications for public rental housing (PRH).

     A PRH applicant declared her marital status as divorced in a declaration form submitted to the HD in 2019. A subsequent investigation revealed that she in fact remarried in 2013. According to the prevailing policy, the applicant's application for PRH had to be made together with her spouse. She admitted that she intentionally concealed her marital status so that she might acquire a PRH flat faster.

     The applicant was prosecuted for knowingly making a false statement in respect of her application for PRH contrary to Section 26(1)(c) of the Housing Ordinance, and was convicted earlier at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts. After considering the gravity of the offence and the probation report, the defendant was sentenced to four weeks' imprisonment (suspended for 12 months) and was fined $5,000 by the presiding magistrate in Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts yesterday (January 17).

     The spokesman reminded all PRH applicants that if any persons are convicted by the courts for making a false statement knowingly during a PRH application, contrary to Section 26(1)(c) of the Housing Ordinance, the maximum penalty is a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months. The PRH application concerned will be cancelled while any allocated PRH unit will be recovered by the HD.