Obtaining TAVA by Deception Can’t Get Away

2026-01-20

 

From 2024 onward, the Police has discovered that culprits attempt to obtain the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance (TAVA) vetted by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) by deception.  In order to obtain the TAVA by deception, fraudsters fabricate sick leave certificates, which exaggerate the durations of sick leave, and submit them to the SWD.

 

In the last year, the Police charged 180 persons.  Among them, 118 persons have been convicted so far.  Penalties ranged from a 60-hour community service order to 10-month imprisonment, and repayments must be made to the SWD.

 

Among these cases, a man and a woman submitted fake sick leave certificates to the SWD to obtain assistance of about $130,000 by deception from October 2023 to March 2024.  Both of them pleaded not guilty to the charge after the Police charged them.  On 19 January 2026, after a trial proceeded at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts, both of them were convicted and jailed for ten months, and were ordered to make repayment.  The penalty was the most severe one among recent cases of this type.

 

The Police reiterates that obtaining the TAVA by deception is a serious offence.  Any person who commits the offence of fraud is liable to imprisonment for up to 14 years upon conviction.