Reporter, two police communications officers jailed in 'leaks-for-bribes' case
2000-5-30
A reporter and two police communications officers were meted with prison terms at District Court today (Tuesday) for bribery offences in connection with leakage of police confidential information.
Lau Kong-kwun, 48, reporter of Apple Daily Limited , was sentenced to 10 months ’ imprisonment, while Senior Police Communications Officer Yeung Kai-hing, 46, and Police Communications Officer (PCO) Tsang Ping-lam, 51, were jailed for seven months and nine months respectively.
Judge Day ordered Yeung and Tsang to pay $83,000 and $30,000 in restitution within two years and one year after being discharged from jail respectively.
In sentencing, the judge said custodial sentences were appropriate for the three defendants in this case.
The judge said despite fierce competition in the media, Lau should not offer bribes for confidential police information. He had corrupted two public officers.
The judge also remarked that Yeung and Tsang had accepted bribes and abused their power to leak out confidential police information.
The judge added that he had taken into account various factors, including the defendants ’ guilty pleas and clear records as well as Yeung's co-operation with the ICAC.
Lau pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to offer bribes to Yeung and Tsang for the two officers to provide confidential information concerning police investigations between June 1997 and November 29 last year.
Yeung and Tsang pleaded guilty to six counts and 10 counts of accepting the bribes from Lau respectively.
The court heard that Lau knew Yeung and Tsang when he worked as a PCO at the Regional Command and Control Centre (RCCC) of the Hong Kong Police Force from November 1979 to February 1988.
After joining the Apple Daily Limited as a reporter in June 1995, Lau was assigned to work in the paper's City Crime Unit.
In early December 1997, Lau offered to pay Yeung $6,000 as a monthly reward for providing police crime information on cases of special interest or with news value on a daily basis.
Yeung, attached to the RCCC of the Hong Kong Island, agreed to the deal. Lau started to pay Yeung a monthly bribe of $6,000 in December 1997. Since June 1998, Lau increased the monthly bribe payment to $8,000.
Lau had subscribed a number of mobile phones for use by Yeung and Tsang, and they used coded messages in communications.
Yeung usually sent information to Lau via facsimile transmission, but he sometimes handed some copies of crime reports or other confidential information direct to Lau.
Yeung met Lau about five times a week. Information provided was related to a number of cases of interest, including rape, indecent assault, incest, child abuse, attempted wounding, attempted burglary, criminal intimidation, recovery of pistol, missing pe rsons, and using chloroform to commit crime.
In June 1997, Lau made a similar deal with Tsang, who was attached to the RCCC of the North Territories North Headquarters. It was agreed that a monthly bribe of $4,000 would be paid.
Yeung and Tsang had respectively accepted $166,000 and $116,000 in bribes for leaking out confidential crime information to the reporter.
The prosecution was today represented by Nicholas Adams on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officers Ricky Yu, Luk Wai-tak and Hanna Chan Lim-hang.
Lau Kong-kwun, 48, reporter of Apple Daily Limited , was sentenced to 10 months ’ imprisonment, while Senior Police Communications Officer Yeung Kai-hing, 46, and Police Communications Officer (PCO) Tsang Ping-lam, 51, were jailed for seven months and nine months respectively.
Judge Day ordered Yeung and Tsang to pay $83,000 and $30,000 in restitution within two years and one year after being discharged from jail respectively.
In sentencing, the judge said custodial sentences were appropriate for the three defendants in this case.
The judge said despite fierce competition in the media, Lau should not offer bribes for confidential police information. He had corrupted two public officers.
The judge also remarked that Yeung and Tsang had accepted bribes and abused their power to leak out confidential police information.
The judge added that he had taken into account various factors, including the defendants ’ guilty pleas and clear records as well as Yeung's co-operation with the ICAC.
Lau pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to offer bribes to Yeung and Tsang for the two officers to provide confidential information concerning police investigations between June 1997 and November 29 last year.
Yeung and Tsang pleaded guilty to six counts and 10 counts of accepting the bribes from Lau respectively.
The court heard that Lau knew Yeung and Tsang when he worked as a PCO at the Regional Command and Control Centre (RCCC) of the Hong Kong Police Force from November 1979 to February 1988.
After joining the Apple Daily Limited as a reporter in June 1995, Lau was assigned to work in the paper's City Crime Unit.
In early December 1997, Lau offered to pay Yeung $6,000 as a monthly reward for providing police crime information on cases of special interest or with news value on a daily basis.
Yeung, attached to the RCCC of the Hong Kong Island, agreed to the deal. Lau started to pay Yeung a monthly bribe of $6,000 in December 1997. Since June 1998, Lau increased the monthly bribe payment to $8,000.
Lau had subscribed a number of mobile phones for use by Yeung and Tsang, and they used coded messages in communications.
Yeung usually sent information to Lau via facsimile transmission, but he sometimes handed some copies of crime reports or other confidential information direct to Lau.
Yeung met Lau about five times a week. Information provided was related to a number of cases of interest, including rape, indecent assault, incest, child abuse, attempted wounding, attempted burglary, criminal intimidation, recovery of pistol, missing pe rsons, and using chloroform to commit crime.
In June 1997, Lau made a similar deal with Tsang, who was attached to the RCCC of the North Territories North Headquarters. It was agreed that a monthly bribe of $4,000 would be paid.
Yeung and Tsang had respectively accepted $166,000 and $116,000 in bribes for leaking out confidential crime information to the reporter.
The prosecution was today represented by Nicholas Adams on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officers Ricky Yu, Luk Wai-tak and Hanna Chan Lim-hang.