Cloaking White-Collar Crime in Hong Kong s Property Sector

Cloaking White-Collar Crime in Hong Kong s Property Sector

Palgrave Advances in Criminology and Criminal Justice in Asia This bold and innovative series provides a much needed intellectual space for global scholars to showcase criminological scholarship in and on Asia. Reflecting upon the broad variety of methodological traditions in Asia, the series aims to create a greater multi-directional, cross-national understanding between Eastern and Western scholars and to enhance the field of comparative criminology. The series welcomes contributions across all aspects of criminology and criminal justice as well as interdisciplinary studies in sociology, law, crime science and psychology, which cover the wider Asia region. including China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Macao, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Series editors: Bill Hebenton School of Law, Manchester University, UK Susyan Jou Graduate School of Criminology, National Taipei University, Taiwan Lennon Y.C. Chang School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Australia Series advisory board: Borge Bakken, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Liqun Cao, University of Ontario, Canada, Mark Finnane, Griffith University, Australia, Peter Grabosky, Australian National University, Australia, David T. Johnson, University of Hawaii, USA, Peter Manning, Northeastern University, USA, Mahesh Nalla, Michigan State University, USA, Ken Pease OBE, University College London, UK, John Pratt, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, Richard Sparks, Edinburgh University, UK, Ivan Sun, University of Delaware, USA, Lening Zhang, Saint Francis University, USA. Titles include : Riccardo Berti VICTIM-OFFENDER RECONCILIATION IN THE PEOPLE S REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND TAIWAN Yujing Fun CLOAKING WHITE-COLLAR CRIME IN HONG KONG S PROPERTY SECTOR Anqi Shen OFFENDING WOMEN IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA Gender and Pathways into Crime Kam C. Wong POLICING IN HONG KONG Research and Practice Palgrave Advances in Criminology and Criminal Justice in Asia Series Standing Order ISBN 978 1 137 39700 3 hardback ( outside North America only ) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England

Cloaking White-Collar Crime in Hong Kong s Property Sector Yujing Fun Hong Kong SAR

Yujing Fun 2015 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-55633-5 ISBN 978-1-137-50677-1 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137506771 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

Contents Acknowledgments vi Introduction: White-Collar Crime Where Is It? 1 1 No Smoking Gun: Methodology in the Uncovering of White-Collar Crime 6 2 Against White-Collar Crime 18 3 Here We Go Again: What Is White-Collar Crime? 47 4 Hong Kong s Surreal Estate: Hong Kong and Its Property Sector 74 5 Tokyo Connection: Comparative Insights for Hong Kong from Japanocentric Crime Theories 116 6 Hong Kong, Power, and White-Collar Crime Discourse 133 Erratum E1 Notes 162 References 187 Index 199 v

Acknowledgments In writing my acknowledgments, I am reminded constantly of Walt Whitman s words: I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don t believe I deserved my friends. To have so many friends who have stood by me, I am at a loss as to where to begin counting my blessings. I shall attempt, in admittedly poor fashion, to thank those who have contributed to making this book possible. To Børge and Henry, my intellectual mentors, I call on a Japanese saying to express my gratitude, Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher. I am so very fortunate to have two. Thank you both for your patience with me. To Vincent Sacco and Nicole Rafter, you believed in me when I had neither the strength nor vision to believe in myself. Without either of you, attempting a doctorate itself would have been a mere flight of fancy. For this book specifically, I have the late Gilbert Geis to thank your words of encouragement gave me the courage to do what I once thought impossible. Rest and be assured that we carry on the great work you began. To the editorial team at Palgrave Macmillan, Harriet Barker, Julia Willan, and Dominic Walker and the team of copy editors led by Vidhya Jayaprakash, thank you all for working with me on this book and helping me navigate this world of publishing. And of course, to the review board, thank you for making this book better with your valuable insights and suggestions. I have learnt so very much with each step. To my informants, some of whom told me things that I could not use for fear of job security or because the case they spoke of was unrelated to the contents of this book, I hope one day to be able to thank you in name. But until a time comes when whistleblowers are given proper protection and standing in Hong Kong, I can only offer my anonymous thanks. We will continue this fight. Fiat justitia ruat caelum. To my students at the various universities I have had the privilege of teaching in, I am honored that many of you consider me a friend and am grateful for your constant encouragement of my work. You are too numerous to name here but I truly wish to thank you all for being beacons of cheer and reminding me of how blessed I am to be able to teach. vi

Acknowledgments vii To my family at Island ECC, thank you all for giving me a place to call home and for supporting me in so many endeavors. This book is but one of the manifestations of your love and encouragement. To my mother, Anne, and my sister, Ailyn, for always having my back and taking me along on holidays! And my aunt, Michele, for teaching me hope, and my uncles, Choo and Brian, for teaching me compassion. To God, my Father, for your relentless love in sending your son, Jesus, to die in my place, saving me from myself, and then filling my life with endless joy; and to Charmaine, my angel, who was so suddenly called back to Heaven: how I wish I could share this with you. I miss you dearly, but I know we will meet again after I have finished my race. Rust in vrede en liefde. And last but surely not least, to Uni, my wife, thank you for coming into my broken life and mending it with me as we journey forward together. Thank you for making me a much better man. I love you. The original version of this book was revised. An erratum to this chapter can be found at DOI 10.1057/9781137506771_8