An estate agent was suspended by the Disciplinary Committee for having breached a provision of the Estate Agents Ordinance by using a name not specified in his estate agent's licence in the course of performing estate agency work.

In November 1999, a client visited an estate agency with a view to buying a property. The agent in question, a director of the company, received him. The agent told the client that his name was John Cheung (fictitious name). The agent also gave him a name card bearing the name of John Cheung. The client later discovered that John Cheung was not the name appearing in the agent's licence and ceased contact with him. The client then reported the matter to the Authority which, after investigation, referred the case to the police for prosecution.

In September 2000, the agent was convicted of the offence of using a name other than that specified in his licence in the course of business in contravention of section 55(2)(a) of the Estate Agents Ordinance. The court sentenced him to a fine of $3,000 and ordered him to pay $1,000 costs.

In October 2000, the agent appeared before the Small Claims Tribunal as representative of his agency in a matter to recover commission. The agent, during the course of the proceedings, made false statements to the Tribunal that he was not John Cheung and that he was not a licensee. Then, at an adjourned hearing before the Tribunal, he admitted to the Tribunal that he had lied in the previous hearing. Upon being asked why he had lied, the agent falsely stated that he was not fully aware of the legal process since he had no previous experience of court appearance which also proved to be untrue. In a letter from the Tribunal to the Authority, the Tribunal expressed great doubt whether the agent was a fit and proper person to be an estate agent.

The Disciplinary Committee decided that the agent appearing before it had no reasonable excuse for using a name other than that specified in his licence in the course of performing estate agency work. He was also found to have repeatedly lied to the Small Claims Tribunal and had not shown remorse for what he had done. The Committee deemed that there would be sufficient ground for his licence to be revoked. However, in view of the fact that he had already received punishment from the Magistrate, the Committee ordered that his licence be suspended for the remainder of its validity period.

Section 55(2)(a) of the Estate Agents Ordinance A licensed estate agent or a licensed salesperson who, without reasonable excuse for or in connection with an estate agency business uses any name other than the name specified in his licence, commits an offence.