An unemployed man, who was caught while coaching a hotel staff on the use of a device designed for capturing credit card data, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment at South Kowloon Court today (Thursday).

Lai Po-keung, 29, charged by the ICAC, earlier admitted that he had attempted to bribe a Front Office Assistant of Eaton Hotel for collecting credit card data.

Lai pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a skimmer for manufacturing counterfeit credit cards and one of possessing two false credit cards on June 10, 1998.

In sentencing, Magistrate Mr Henry Mierzack said that the defendant had committed a serious offence which warranted an immediate custodial sentence. The magistrate also noted that he had taken into consideration the defendant's guilty plea.

The court heard that the ICAC earlier received information alleging that some staff members of the Eaton Hotel in Yaumatei might have taken bribes for capturing customers' genuine credit card data.

Investigations revealed that in early 1998, the defendant requested Yip Kwok-keung, a Front Office Assistant of Eaton Hotel, to capture bona fide credit card data while the latter processed credit card transactions, and offered to pay Yip monetary rewards .

In April 1998, the defendant gave Yip a skimmer for capturing customers' credit card data. The defendant reiterated that the data would be used to manufacture counterfeit credit cards. The false cards would be uttered overseas to avoid detection.

Yip, however, kept the skimmer in his locker at the hotel and never used it.

During a meeting monitored by ICAC officers on June 10, 1998, Yip returned the skimmer to the defendant.

While Lai was later arrested by ICAC officers, the skimmer and two counterfeit credit cards were recovered from him.

When interviewed under caution, the defendant claimed that the skimmer and the two counterfeit credit cards were provided by a Mainland citizen.

The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Johnny Yau.