Ex-MOS Burger manager charged over ghost worker scam
HK01 · 3 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
The Independent Commission Against Corruption has charged eight people, including a former MOS Burger branch manager and his wife, with seven counts of conspiracy to defraud over an alleged ghost worker scheme.
The case alleges that between October 2022 and June 2024, unauthorized smart cards were used to create false attendance records for six purported staff members.
Investigators say the false records made the six appear to have worked more than 1,500 days in total, causing MOS Food Hong Kong Limited to pay about HK$680,000 in wages and about HK$60,000 in Mandatory Provident Fund contributions.
The defendants appeared at Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts and the case was transferred to the District Court for plea on September 8, with bail granted.
Key Points
- The first defendant, Tsui Hin-po, 39, was the former manager of MOS Burger's Tin Shui Wai branch and handled hiring and attendance records for wage calculations
- The eight defendants are Tsui Hin-po, his wife Chan Wing-sze, and six former shop staff aged between 24 and 33.
- Prosecutors allege Tsui, Chan and others falsely represented six co-defendants as employees at Tin Shui Wai or Tuen Mun branches.
- The six allegedly never worked at the branches, held other jobs at the time, and were told they need not report for duty
- After receiving wages, the six allegedly returned part of the money, with about HK$400,000 passed to Tsui, Wong Yin-yau and another accomplice.
Why It Matters
The case points to the financial and compliance risks employers face when branch-level hiring, attendance logging and payroll checks are controlled by the same staff members.
For Hong Kong workers and businesses, the allegations also raise concerns about abuse of MPF contributions and the use of false employment records to extract company funds.