General restriction on holding of conveyancing money by solicitor
4.—(1)  A solicitor shall not, in the course of his employment or in the course of carrying on his trade, business, profession or vocation, receive or hold any conveyancing money (not being anticipatory conveyancing money) on behalf of another person, except in accordance with —
(a)an escrow agreement; or
(b)the applicable provisions of these Rules and the Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Accounts) Rules (Cap. 161, R 8).
(2)  A solicitor shall not, in the course of his employment or in the course of carrying on his trade, business, profession or vocation, receive or hold any anticipatory conveyancing money on behalf of another person.
(3)  Any solicitor who contravenes paragraph (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or to both.
(4)  In this rule —
“anticipatory conveyancing money” means any money deposited by a person —
(a)for the sale and purchase of any land, to the account of the purchase price, before he has identified the land;
(b)for the assignment of any land, to the account of any consideration for the assignment, before he has identified the land; or
(c)for the grant or surrender of a lease, licence or tenancy in respect of any land, to the account of any consideration for the lease, licence or tenancy or for the surrender of the lease, licence or tenancy, as the case may be, before he has identified the land;
“conveyancing money” includes anticipatory conveyancing money.