Taikoo Shing former chief estate manager gets six months
2000-2-3
A former Chief Estate Manager of Taikoo Shing (Management) Ltd. (TSML), charged by the ICAC, was jailed for six months at Eastern Court today (Thursday) for accepting about $310,000 in bribes from a contractor in relation to maintenance contracts and job orders for Taikoo Shing in Quarry Bay.
Magistrate Mr Ian Candy said he was bound by an Appeal Court ruling in imposing a jail sentence.
Citing the Appeal Court judgment, the magistrate said: "This is a prime example of the sad results which are occasioned when otherwise honest and hardworking people, succumb to temptation and fall prey to corruption.”
Sidney Charles Pinches, 53, earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of accepting about $310,000 in total from Tse Keung, proprietor of Lik Hang Engineering Development Limited (Lik Hang), between 1997 and January 2000.
The bribes were for Pinches to show favour to Lik Hang in the award of maintenance contracts and job orders for Taikoo Shing.
Pinches was also ordered to pay $290,000 in restitution.
TSML, a subsidiary of Swire Properties Ltd., is the management company of Taikoo Shing. Swire Properties rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation.
Lik Hang was regularly contracted by TSML to perform plumbing and drainage works in Taikoo Shing.
The court heard that in 1997, after Lik Hang was awarded a maintenance contract for Taikoo Shing Phase II, it was agreed between Pinches and Tse that the latter would pay a commission, calculated at 2.5% of the contract value.
Pinches subsequently accepted about $200,000 from Tse.
Investigations revealed that Pinches further accepted about $80,000 to $100,000 in total from Tse for showing favour to Lik Hang over the award of day-to-day maintenance work orders from TSML. The bribes, calculated at 3% of the value of work orders cont racted at a six-month interval, were paid on two occasions between 1998 and 1999.
During a meeting monitored by ICAC officers on January 11, 2000, Pinches accepted from Tse another $10,000, which was part of the outstanding payment of the commission.
ICAC officers had recovered $190,000 cash in a drawer at Pinches' office.
Tse was charged with five counts of offering $290,000 in total to Pinches and will appear in Eastern Court on February 11, 2000.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Liu Yuen-ming, assisted by ICAC officer Ricky Yau Shu-chun.
Magistrate Mr Ian Candy said he was bound by an Appeal Court ruling in imposing a jail sentence.
Citing the Appeal Court judgment, the magistrate said: "This is a prime example of the sad results which are occasioned when otherwise honest and hardworking people, succumb to temptation and fall prey to corruption.”
Sidney Charles Pinches, 53, earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of accepting about $310,000 in total from Tse Keung, proprietor of Lik Hang Engineering Development Limited (Lik Hang), between 1997 and January 2000.
The bribes were for Pinches to show favour to Lik Hang in the award of maintenance contracts and job orders for Taikoo Shing.
Pinches was also ordered to pay $290,000 in restitution.
TSML, a subsidiary of Swire Properties Ltd., is the management company of Taikoo Shing. Swire Properties rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation.
Lik Hang was regularly contracted by TSML to perform plumbing and drainage works in Taikoo Shing.
The court heard that in 1997, after Lik Hang was awarded a maintenance contract for Taikoo Shing Phase II, it was agreed between Pinches and Tse that the latter would pay a commission, calculated at 2.5% of the contract value.
Pinches subsequently accepted about $200,000 from Tse.
Investigations revealed that Pinches further accepted about $80,000 to $100,000 in total from Tse for showing favour to Lik Hang over the award of day-to-day maintenance work orders from TSML. The bribes, calculated at 3% of the value of work orders cont racted at a six-month interval, were paid on two occasions between 1998 and 1999.
During a meeting monitored by ICAC officers on January 11, 2000, Pinches accepted from Tse another $10,000, which was part of the outstanding payment of the commission.
ICAC officers had recovered $190,000 cash in a drawer at Pinches' office.
Tse was charged with five counts of offering $290,000 in total to Pinches and will appear in Eastern Court on February 11, 2000.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Liu Yuen-ming, assisted by ICAC officer Ricky Yau Shu-chun.