Overview - Fraudstars

Because Best New Director Pierre Ngo stubbornly insisted on doing things his way, he and other crew members are blacklisted by the industry. Ten years later, Pierre, producer Lawrence Cheng, scriptwriter Angel Chiang, stunt coordinator Vincent Lam, production designer Kirby Lam, actress Sammi Cheung and assistant director Enson Lau reunite to film their most ideal movie. Their dreams are crushed when their investor dies in an accident. They are even left to pay a massive restaurant bill! To get away, the seven of them stage a seemingly real scam. Pierre and the others subsequently form the "Fraudstars." Until one day, a real criminal organization appears and forces them carry out a scam that they cannot turn back from...

ICAC Investigators 2016 - Preview of Cases

Case #1:
Inspired by her brother's girlfriend, Karmen Kwok joins the ICAC as an assistant investigator. During the initial training, she constantly makes mistakes, but her proactive attitude and dedication leaves a deep impression on instructor Ruco Chan.

While visiting her grandmother, senior investigator Natalie Tong overhears the neighbours talking about how Lawrence Cheng, a candidate for the District Council by-election, is bribing voters using clever tactics that circumvent the law. They all have a different view on whether Lawrence's actions constitutes as illegal. Natalie tells her superior Chris Lai about Lawrence's case. It turns out that the ICAC has already receive complaints and is preparing an investigation.




Case #2:
As Karmen completes her training, Ruco is also transferred back to the front lines. He partners with Natalie to investigate a case involving a wristwatch corporation bribing tour guides. As it is a complex case, principal investigator Elena Kong decides to personally participate in the investigation. They encounter many problems as they gather evidence. Ruco and his long-time girlfriend Elaine Yiu are each busy with work. Elaine makes huge profits in real estate and is gradually becoming blinded by money. One time, she mentions about a conspiracy between a real estate agent and an employee of the developer to fraudulently earn commission. Ruco points out that their actions may have violated the law and reminds Elaine not to join them. They part on bad terms.




Case #3
The ICAC receives case after case. Businessman Raymond Chiu is offering bribes to a senior bank officer, Jimmy Au. Elena assigns the case to Chris' team. The investigation takes a long time, but after a lot of hard work, the ICAC finally arrest Raymond and Jimmy, and lay charges on them. However, on the day of the trial, Raymond skips bail and absconds. At the same time, Elena suddenly faints and is hospitalized.




Case #4
With Elena in the hospital, principal investigator Kenneth Ma takes over a case involving a tobacco company CEO accepting bribes from cigarette smugglers. Kenneth personally leads the investigation. Because of the difficulty of obtaining evidence, Kenneth sends Kelly Fu to act as an undercover. During the course of the investigation, Kelly discovers that she is pregnant, but decides to continue on. At the same time, Kenneth and Ruco go to Saipan to find evidence in a thrilling adventure. Meanwhile, Ruco also participates in a fraud case involving real estate developers. He is shocked to find that his girlfriend Elaine is implicated in the case...




Case #5
Ruco investigates well-known businesswoman Florence Kwok for fraud. Florence is bribing her subordinates to falsify warrants in order to make profit. As the investigation reaches a mature stage, Kenneth leads the team to make the arrests. Florence subsequently deploys judicial tactics to delay the case and attempt to avoid trial. Meanwhile, Raymond, who escaped earlier, is arrested overseas and extradited back to Hong Kong for trial. Elaine is arrested by the ICAC for colluding with real estate developers to fraudulently obtain commission...

Never Dance Alone Review

Producer: Eric Tsang, Joe Chan
Genre: Modern
Cast: Carman Lee, Rachel Lee, Gloria Yip, Angie Cheong, Fennie Yuen, Elvina Kong, Flora Chan

Review:
Put seven women together and I had expected a cat fight. Luckily, Never Dance Alone chooses a different path. It turned out to be an entertaining and heartfelt series.

For older viewers, it was a nice trip down memory lane. Watching this series with my parents, they couldn't help but share memories from their school days. Alan Tam's songs were artfully used to enhance the feeling of nostalgia. But viewers of all ages will find that they can resonate with the messages about friendship and dreams. The series was thoughtful in its examination of friendship and inspiring in its message to pursue your dreams.

The story occurs in the past and present. I like the interconnections between the two time frames, with the two generations doing some of the exact same things. The casting of the young actresses was done well. They all bare resemblance to their older versions. Their acting is better than most newbies and they exhibited a youthful energy. They were given ample screen-time, which unfortunately meant less time for the veterans.

Carman Lee was phenomenal. Never have I been so entranced by a performance. It's hard to look away from her whenever she is on-screen. Her every expression, every movement, every line delivered was perfect. Her chemistry with her on-screen husband, Lawrence Cheng, was impeccable. Not to mention her stunning beauty regardless of whatever her real age might be.

Flora Chan turned in an excellent performance as well. She carried herself with the arrogant manner of her character. Yet at the same time, she was able to make her character one that the audience would sympathize instead of hate. And her dancing was spectacular.

The other actresses also left memorable impressions with their characters. Each of them fully embodied their characters and acted in their roles without restraint. The bond between the ladies feels genuine and deep, as if they really have known each other for 20 years. I have not seen most of these actresses before and I am truly wowed by their talent.

The series is rounded off with good performances from the supporting cast. Lawrence Ng shows off his comedic side, a big difference from his normally professional image. Lawrence Cheng plays in his typical loving husband role, but as I said, his chemistry with Carman was remarkable. Miu Kan Fung was superb as the mean mother-in-law. Special mention to the maid Daisy who was seriously hilarious. Even Eliza Sam has improved to the point that her acting and accent doesn't bother me here. It was great to see the guest stars too, including Eric Tsang himself!


Rating: 5/5. A rare gem.

Never Dance Alone Promo Clips

Overview - Never Dance Alone

Extended Trailer

The Case of Chan Kau-tai

The second episode of ICAC Investigators 2014 is adapted from the real-life case of Chan Kau-tai (陳裘大). He is the father of singer Eason Chan.

Lawrence Cheng's character is based on Chan Kau-tai.

Chan Kau-tai was the Chief Building Services Engineer of the Housing Department in Hong Kong. Between 2000-2001, he was investigated by the ICAC for taking bribes from contractors and material suppliers in exchange for helping them win government contracts or giving them favourable treatment during the inspection process. He was also accused of accepting money to help a friend's son get a job in the government. In total, he took in $3 million HKD from bribes.

During the trial, the ICAC famously presented video footage of Chan counting banknotes in his office. The video was captured using surveillance cameras installed in his office, with the permission of his superior. Although the legality of the ICAC's surveillance was questioned, the court ultimately admitted the tapes as evidence. Chan was convicted on 10 of 16 charges and sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment.

This was the story presented in ICAC Investigators 2014, but it is not the full story.

Chan appealed the ruling on the basis that the ICAC purposely concealed the DUI (driving under influence) record of one of the case's principal investigators. The credibility of that investigator's testimony and fairness of the trial was challenged. The appeal was allowed and a re-trial was ordered.

In addition, during the trials of the four suppliers, the ICAC was found to have violated the defendants' rights by seizing their documents without a search warrant and tape-recording their conversations with their lawyer. The latter is a violation of the legal professional privilege, which protects a person's right to seek legal advice without fear that their communications with their lawyer would be used against them. A violation of this right would severely impact the public's confidence in the justice system, thus the district court issued a permanent stay of proceedings. The stay of proceedings was appealed by the Department of Justice. The appeal was allowed and the cases were sent back for re-trial.

In the end, Chan was sentenced to six years of imprisonment, while two of the suppliers who had allegedly offered bribes were acquitted. In 2008, Chan was released on parole.

Overview - Never Dance Alone

Carman Lee lives an ordinary life with husband Lawrence Cheng despite always being bullied by her mother-in-law. One day, she comes across a flyer advertising the “Fung Sin Dance Studio”, making her think back to her high school days. Back then, she enjoyed writing and formed a group called “M Club” with her fellow classmates: the girl with a local accent (Rachel Lee), the avid dancer (Elvina Kong), the gossiper (Fennie Yuen), the early maturer (Angie Cheong) and the fortune teller (Gloria Yip). The six friends vowed to stick together no matter what. But twenty years later, they each lead separate lives and can only look back at their youthful dreams with a sigh. Only Elvina has maintained her passion for dancing. An accident that causes her to be hospitalized leads to the reunion of the M Club members. The old friends work together to defend the “Fung Sin Dance Studio” from the competing “D Fitness”, run by their high school rival Flora Chan. Meanwhile, Carman reencounters her first lover, Lawrence Ng. Rachel has mixed feelings as she remembers her past, including secretly causing the break-up of Carman and Lawrence, and giving birth to her daughter out of wedlock. Through all these events, the ladies rediscover the energy, courage, motivation and confidence that they thought had disappeared…

ICAC Investigators 2014 Promo Clips

ICAC Investigators 2014 - Preview of Cases

Promo #1


Promo #2


Case 1 - "Tomorrow"


Case 2 - "Spider"


Case 3 - "Money Grubber"


Case 4 - "Black Ball"


Case 5 - "Comrade"


Extended Trailer

ICAC Investigators 2014 - Preview of Cases

Case 1 - "Tomorrow"


Rookie investigator Venus Wong joins the ICAC with aspirations to fight the big tigers. But instead, she is assigned to a case involving a supermarket staffer (Jo Koo) and a milk powder smuggling operation. Venus is disheartened to see ordinary citizens being forced onto a road of corruption just to provide for themselves. Fortunately, senior investigator Liu Kai-chi helps her understand that there is no difference between major or minor cases of corruption. At the same time, Venus must make a decision about her own future. To have a better tomorrow, should she stay or leave?


Case 2 - "Spider"


The Housing Department's chief engineer Lawrence Cheng takes advantage of his position to solicit bribes for government construction contracts. Like a spider building its web, he constructs a massive network of corruption. Although ICAC investigators Gardner Tse and Raymond Wong have received reports on the corruption, they cannot find evidence against the cautious suspect. Fortunately, with the support of other departments, they eventually succeed in capturing the corrupt spider in the web of justice.

*This story depicts the corruption case of Eason Chan's father. Read about the case here.


Case 3 - "Money Grubber"


Alice Chan successfully goes from being penniless to joining the ranks of the upper-class. Unfortunately, her endless persuade of wealth causes her to manipulate the stock markets. Despite being investigated by the Securities Commission and ICAC investigators Joyce Tang, Shirley Yeung and Jason Chan, Alice is unrepentant and uses any means possible to evade justice. She ends up amassing more and more criminal charges.


Case 4 - "Black Ball"


A passionate and talented soccer player, Ronald Law, inadvertently gets involved with an illegal sports betting operation. He is induced to throw an upcoming match, and even persuades his teammates to participate in the match-fixing. After receiving a tip, ICAC investigators Ruco Chan, KK Cheung and Sire Ma are put on the case. Facing the temptation of money, some players choose to continue practice as usual, while others are unsure. In the end, will they fall to temptation and give up their dreams?


Case 5 - "Comrade"


During the 1990s, the ICAC marked its 20th anniversary. Just as the corruption problem within the police force was slowly being erased, a mass corruption case involving over 20 officers reappeared again. It involved officers of all ranks, including constable Hoffman Cheng and chief inspector Desmond So. In the present day, senior investigator Eddie Kwan continues investigating the case with rookie Vincent Wong. The implications in the case shock the ICAC. Fortunately, they receive full cooperation from Kenny Wong of the police force, forging a new partnership between the ICAC and police.


ICAC Investigators 2014 Promo Clips