A flight attendant of Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. (Cathay Pacific) was sentenced to three months' imprisonment at Eastern Court today (Friday) for taking bribes for nominating a man for a scheme which entitled him to concessionary airline tickets.

Yeoh Kar-miin, 25, was earlier found guilty of three counts of accepting $5,980 in total from Lau Yuen-tat and Man Kin-wing for issuing concessionary tickets for Man. The offences took place between December 1998 and January 1999.

In sentencing, Magistrate Mr Lambert Lee said that the defendenat had committed a serious offence.

As part of staff fringe benefit scheme, all Cathay Pacific employees are entitled to travel on Cathay Pacific flights at 10% of the advertised rates. The employees' parents, spouse and siblings enjoy the same benefit while single employees can nominate t heir friends as their travel companions who can also travel under the scheme.

The court heard that in 1995, Man and Lau requested the defendant to nominate Man as her travel companion so that Man could travel on Cathay Pacific flights at 10% of the advertised rates. Man and Lau offered the defendant $2,800 as a reward.

The defendant subsequently nominated Man as her travel companion. They signed a declaration as required by Cathay Pacific.

The declaration states that Cathay Pacific employees are not permitted to solicit or accept any advantages in relation to concessionary tickets while the nominated travel companions are prohibited from offering advantages to Cathay Pacific employees.

Between December 1998 and January 1999, the defendant accepted $5,980 in total from Man and Lau as a reward for issuing concessionary tickets for Man.

Man and Lau, charged with conspiracy to offer advantages, were yesterday each jailed for three months after a separate trial.

The prosecution was today represented by Leung Chun-keung on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officer Gordon Chan.