A health inspector in Hong Kong has pled guilty to stealing food samples.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) had previously charged five inspectors at the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) with allegedly abusing their power by failing to dispose of unused food samples properly after testing.
Lau Shing-hin, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of theft at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court. Principal Magistrate Ivy Chui Yee-mei adjourned the case to November 6 and granted Lau bail.
CFS is responsible for ensuring that the food sold in Hong Kong is safe and fit for consumption.
At the time, Lau was working on a team in the risk management division’s food import and export section. His duties included conducting radiation level tests on food.
CFS requires inspectors to purchase a suitable amount of randomly selected food samples at a reasonable price for conducting tests. The agency prohibits officers from deliberately ordering excessive food samples or misappropriating any untested samples. After conducting tests, unused food samples should be disposed of following the procedures, and disposal should be documented appropriately.
Stolen food samples
The ICAC investigation started after a corruption complaint regarding the purchase of food samples by CFS officers. The investigation revealed that the five defendants had planned to mishandle the leftover food samples before conducting the tests.
ICAC officials recovered various food samples, including Italian cheese, canned French beef stew, and Spanish canned seafood at Lau’s home.
Lau admitted that between May 2022 and March 2023, he had stolen part of the food samples purchased on behalf of CFS to conduct food tests.
His four co-defendants, Chan Ying-shan, Lam Hiu-kwan, Yu Fung-chun, and Lee Chun-hei, aged between 29 and 38, all health inspectors of the FEHD, jointly faced one count of conspiracy to steal.
No plea was taken when they appeared in court. Their case was also adjourned to November 6.
ICAC officers recovered 80 food samples from the defendants’ homes, including canned abalone, white truffle sauce, crab bisque, Japanese rice, and various types of pasta.
Defendants are accused of using public funds to purchase food samples worth more than Hong Kong $88,000 (U.S. $11,300) from five importers for conducting two tests on radiation levels.
A FEHD spokesman previously said the five employees had been suspended from duty.
Following the case findings, ICAC has provided FEHD with corruption prevention recommendations and additional integrity refresher training for all FEHD staff responsible for food testing.
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