A man, charged by the ICAC, was today (Wednesday) sentenced to four months' imprisonment at Eastern Magistracy for fabricating a corruption report against officers of the Customs and Excise Department (C&E), accusing them of accepting advantages from cigarette smugglers.

The defendant, 53, a security guard, earlier pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly making a false report to an ICAC officer, contrary to Section 13B(a) of the ICAC Ordinance.

In sentencing, Magistrate Ms Bina Chainrai said the court had to mete out a custodial sentence in view of the serious offence, although a probation report recommended that a community service order be considered for the defendant.

The court heard that at the time of the offence, the defendant was a courier occasionally travelling between Hong Kong and the Mainland through the Lok Ma Chau Control Point.

On October 9, 2009, the defendant made a report to an ICAC officer, alleging that a team of four C&E officers might have accepted advantages from some unidentified cigarette smugglers as rewards for taking no action against their smuggling activities.

Four days later, the defendant gave a witness statement to ICAC officers in respect of his corruption report. He claimed to have seen the cigarette smugglers passing over bank cheques to two of the C&E officers.

The ICAC officers, who took the statement from the defendant, explained to him that he might be liable to prosecution for a criminal offence if he made a false statement. The defendant subsequently signed on the statement.

The court heard that on November 23, 2009, the defendant gave another witness statement to the ICAC, in which he fabricated details of description of the travellers who might have offered advantages to the C&E officers.

The ICAC officers, who took the statement from the defendant, explained to the defendant again his liability of making a false statement.

Upon further enquiries by the ICAC officers, the defendant admitted that he had in fact made up the corruption report.

The defendant also admitted that he wanted to take revenge on those C&E officers because the latter had earlier arrested him for smuggling cigarettes from the Mainland into Hong Kong, the court was told.

The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Robert Lee, assisted by ICAC officer Matthew Chang.