Disgraced accountant Des Fong ‘still a good man’, court hears

‘This prisoner who pleaded guilty is basically an old school gentleman — civil, courteous, understated, kind and generous.’

Darwin accountant and former local council candidate Des Fong outside thee Supreme Court in Darwin before being remanded in custody earlier this month.

DISGRACED Darwin accountant Des Fong is “still a good man” despite having skimmed off almost $400,000 from the sale of one of his client’s businesses, a court has heard.

Fong last month pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to stealing $399,657.80 from a company in the process of buying the business of his client, NT Welding, which hired him as an intermediary in the sale.

In a pre-sentence hearing yesterday, Fong’s barrister John Lawrence, told the court his client should be afforded the benefit of a partially suspended sentence due to his good character and the impact of his jailing on his young, severely disabled son.

Mr Lawrence said Fong was “an old school gentleman” who had contributed to the community, including by founding the Nightcliff markets.

“You’ve got 20 references that tell you that this prisoner who pleaded guilty is basically an old school gentleman — civil, courteous, understated, kind and generous,” he said.

“He has added to our community by his hard work per se, as a professional and all the clients he’s dealt with but also working the phones at crisis line.

“He’s stayed overnight twice a month to help people who are in mental distress — he also helped establish that, that’s the type of man he is.”

Fong is best known for fronting a 2016 “commonsense” campaign to save the Daly St roundabout from demolition and later stood for election to the Darwin council on a platform of “integrity and trust”.

After being charged with the white-collar theft, Fong again appeared in the Darwin Local Court in June where he pleaded guilty to four counts relating to the failure to hand over financial documents to liquidators.

He was fined $4000 and only avoided spending three months in jail after complying with a court order to produce the documents.

At the time, judge Elisabeth Armitage said the charges represented the accountant’s continued failure to comply with his professional obligations.

Fong will return to court for sentencing on November 4.