Hong Kong - An insurance agent was found guilty Monday of defrauding several insurance companies out of 8.55 million Hong Kong dollars (1.1 million US dollars) paid out to settle bogus claims of medical malpractice. Kwok Yan-sang, 54, was part of a seven-member syndicate led by his younger brother Kwok Wah-cheong, which helped three Chinese nationals to claim they had each been blinded in one eye during surgery, the court ruled.
Deputy Judge Yau Chi-lap deferred sentencing on Kwok for two weeks.
Kwok helped find the group a private doctor who was used to speed up processing of the claims.
Judge Yau was told the younger Kwok was approached by three Chinese nationals, who were already blind in one eye, about making false claims with insurers in Hong Kong.
The younger Kwok helped them take out insurance policies with eight companies using stolen identity cards. The mainland Chinese men then deliberately blinded themselves in their good eyes before making the claims.
In the first case, five insurers paid out 4.21 million Hong Kong dollars in compensation, while in the second, three companies paid 4.34 million Hong Kong dollars in compensation. Insurance companies refused to pay out in the third case after they were told the Kwok brothers had been arrested.
The younger Kwok and five other accomplices will be sentenced on Friday for their role in the fraud.
