Transport Department Vehicle Testing Center: 4 Staff Members Charged by ICAC for Annual Inspection Fraud

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) today announced the formal charges against four staff members of a former designated vehicle inspection center under the Transport Department, accusing them of falsifying vehicle emissions test results and assisting multiple private cars in passing annual vehicle inspections. Following law enforcement actions by ICAC, the Transport Department has removed this center from the list of designated vehicle inspection centers.

The defendant, Wong Lik Yan, 48, former manager of Handy Auto Limited, is charged with one count of conspiracy to deceive. Three other individuals, who previously served as approved vehicle testers at Handy Auto—Liu Zhiqiang and Tan Jianliang, both 67; and Ho Jiawa, 42—are also charged with conspiracy to commit fraud. The four defendants have been granted bail by ICAC. Their case was scheduled to appear in Eastern Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, with the prosecution later applying to transfer the case to the District Court for trial.

At the time of the incident, Handy Auto was one of the Transport Department’s designated vehicle testing centers. One of the charges alleges that the three approved vehicle testers—Liu Zhiqiang, Tan Jianliang, and Ho Jiawa—conspired between June 2022 and June 2024 with six other staff members, including the center manager, Wong Lik Yan, and other approved testers, to fraudulently conduct annual inspections on multiple private cars. They allegedly falsified the “Certificate of Roadworthiness” to falsely state that these vehicles were suitable for road use, thereby deceiving the Transport Department into approving their renewal of registration.

Another charge accuses Wong Lik Yan of improperly conducting an annual inspection on a private vehicle in May 2024 and falsely certifying that the vehicle was roadworthy, with the intent to deceive and induce the Transport Department to approve the vehicle’s renewal.

ICAC received a corruption complaint earlier and launched an investigation, discovering that the four defendants were involved in falsifying vehicle emissions test results, enabling the involved private cars to pass annual inspections and apply for renewal of registration with the Transport Department. The investigation indicated that the case mainly involved falsification of emissions test results, and other tests related to road safety were not affected.

After ICAC uncovered the case, the Transport Department immediately removed Handy Auto from the list of designated vehicle testing centers. The four defendants are no longer authorized as center managers or approved vehicle testers.