Hong Kong college finance chief, wife and contractor held over HK$41m theft

The finance director of a private college in Hong Kong has been remanded in custody on suspicion of embezzling HK$41 million (US$5.2 million) over three years, with his wife and an engineering contractor also denied bail for allegedly handling the illicit proceeds.Ray Yip Kam-chun, 49, appeared in Tuen Mun Court on Wednesday to face a count of theft for allegedly stealing from Hong Kong Chu Hai College in Tuen Mun between December 23, 2022, and January 7 this year.His wife, Ng Ka-man, 49, and businessman Ho Chung-ling, 50, were also charged with a total of 15 counts of money laundering. They were accused of handling HK$84.7 million and HK$57.9 million respectively through their personal and company bank accounts.Acting Principal Magistrate Daniel Tang Siu-hung scheduled the next hearing for November 4 before dismissing the trio’s bail applications.The defendants have reserved their rights to renew their bail bids on August 20. They can also apply for bail in the High Court.Hong Kong Chu Hai College is located in Tuen Mun. Photo: HandoutYip was first arrested in May after the college’s president, Jane Zhang, reported three unusual bank transactions with the finance director’s personal account, amounting to about HK$770,000.