Wealthmark International (Holdings) former chairman Wong Chor-wo has been sentenced to an additional 27 months jail by the District Court for his role in defrauding banks of $57 million in Letters of Credit facilities based on bogus business transactions. Wong, 54, earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to defraud.

Deputy Judge Gary Tallentire sentenced Wong to 44 months imprisonment, but ordered 27 months to run consecutively to his current six-year jail term for submitting false statements to auditors for covering up the misappropriation of company funds in another trial.

Wong Chun-ping, 51, a director and shareholder of C.K. Trading Company, who was also charged for his role in the case, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud. He was jailed for 32 months, with 20 months to run consecutively to his current three-year jail term for dealing with the misappropriated funds.

Co-defendant, Chung Ching-huy, 52, a sole proprietor of Belle Sac Company, who was earlier found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud, received a jail term of 27 months.

Wong Chor-wo was a director of Wallmark, a subsidiary of Wealthmark, which manufactured and sold handbags and related products. Between June 1, 1998, and May 15, 2001, he conspired with Chung to apply to banks for 10 L/Cs amounting to $17,750,658 from banks in favour of Belle Sac. The applications were based on bogus transactions between Wallmark and Belle Sac. Upon receipt of the L/C funds, Belle Sac reverted the monies to Wallmark.

The court also heard that between January 1, 1998, and March 5, 2001, Wong Chor-wo conspired with Wong Chun-ping to apply to banks for 10 L/Cs amounting to $21,603,610 in favour of C.K. Trading. Between May 1, 2001 and March 2, 2004, they applied for nine L/Cs totalling $19,755,765 from various banks, based on bogus business transactions between Wallmark and C.K. Trading. All the proceeds, upon receipt by C.K. Trading, were reverted to Wallmark either directly or through the personal bank accounts of Wong Chung-ping.