Four people have been jailed for up to two years for their roles in the illegal excavation of rocks from Tung Chung River.

Tung Chung Rural Committee Chairman Law Kam-fai, 63, was jailed two years, while Wong Yat-wah, 52, operator of Tung Po Engineering Company, was jailed for 20 months. They were both fined $10,000.

Tung Chung Rural Committee Vice-chairman Li Kwai-mo, 62, and Secretary Mok Kwong-ming, 65, were each sentenced to 11 months jail.

District Court Deputy Judge Andrew Chan reprimanded the defendants for the swindle, of which Law was the mastermind.

Law and Wong were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud and were also convicted of three other offences - conspiracy to steal, remove stones from unleased land, and unauthorised excavations. Law, Li and Mok were convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.