Hong Kong school principal jailed for 6 months over HK$270,000 fraud

A former primary school principal has been jailed for six months in Hong Kong for scamming the institution out of HK$270,000 (US$34,715) by lying about missing salary payments and withdrawing funds without authorisation.

Chen Yi-hsin, former head of the Yan Chai Hospital Chiu Tsang Hok Wan Primary School in Tsing Yi, pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud at West Kowloon Court, the government announced on Friday.

Magistrate Yu Chun-cheung said the defendant breached the trust placed in him as a principal and the court would not consider a community service order.

“A school principal, as the leader of a school, should not use his official position for personal gains,” a spokesman for the Independent Commission Against Corruption said.

The anti-corruption watchdog launched an investigation into Chen after receiving a complaint.

In early April 2023 and again in early May of that year, Chen falsely claimed to the school that he had not received his salary via bank autopay for March and April.