He deleted the WhatsApp evidence, made a false statement, then cried foul
A probationary Hong Kong firefighter who helped run a colleague's fraudulent investment scheme has failed to overturn his dismissal.
The High Court refused the firefighter leave to apply for judicial review on October 14, 2026, finding his termination was a private employment matter - not the kind of government decision the courts will second-guess through judicial review. Even if it were, the court said, his case had no arguable merit on any ground.
The firefighter had been employed by the Fire Services Department on probationary terms since January 2021. From February 2022, he invested money in a scheme operated by a former senior fireman. He did not stop at investing his own money. According to the court's findings, he introduced the scheme to family, friends and colleagues, and some of these new investors transferred funds to the operator through the firefighter's personal bank accounts. Between March and September 2022, he helped distribute "interest" payments to investors on the operator's instructions.
Things unravelled in July 2022. The operator told the firefighter the ICAC - Hong Kong's anti-corruption agency - was investigating him, and that the firefighter should delete all WhatsApp messages between them. The firefighter agreed. According to his own account, those messages included details about the scheme and instructions on receiving funds and distributing interest to investors.
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