Four years' jail for former KCRC general manager taking $2.5m bribes
2000-6-29
A former General Manager of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation's (KCRC) Property Division was sentenced to four years' imprisonment today (Thursday) for accepting about $2.5 million in bribes for awarding contracts worth totalling $9.7 million to an architectural firm.
Cheung King-fung, 44, charged by the ICAC, earlier pleaded guilty to 14 counts of accepting $2,540,000 in total from Kwan Wing-hong as rewards for awarding term consultancy contracts to Kwan and Associates Architects Limited (Kwan and Associates) between August 1998 and August 1999.
Cheung was further charged with one count each of forging nine service orders and conspiracy to defraud KCRC. The court ordered these two charges be left on file.
The court also ordered Cheung to return $2.54 million in restitution to KCRC.
In sentencing, Judge Fergal Sweeney said the case was an elaborate scam.
The judge also noted that though the defendant claimed in his mitigation that he underwent great financial difficulties due to the Asian financial turmoil, this was not an excuse for him to commit corruption.
The judge added that he had taken into consideration the defendant ' s clear record and his guilty plea in sentencing.
The court heard that Cheung was responsible for recommending term consultants to the director of the KCRC ' s Property Division for contracts not exceeding $500,000. When Cheung was offered acting appointments as the director, he had the authority to approve such contracts.
Kwan and Associates was one of KCRC' s term consultants for architectural services, of which Kwan Wing-hong was the director.
The court was told that on August 1, 1998, Cheung solicited a 35 percent illegal rebate from Kwan for every service order awarded to Kwan and Associates. It was later agreed that the bribes would be reduced to 30 percent of the contract value.
Between August 1998 and August 1999, Cheung solicited a total of $2,540,000 in cash from Kwan on various occasions. Kwan had fully paid the illegal rebates as demanded.
As a result, 23 term consultancy contracts, worth $9,738,706 in total, were awarded to Kwan and Associates during the year.
The court was also told that since the award of contracts valued over $500,000 need to be approved by a steering committee of KCRC, Cheung had instructed Kwan to lower the bidding price of various contracts to below $500,000.
The prosecution was today represented by Christopher Coghlan on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officer Diman Mak.
Cheung King-fung, 44, charged by the ICAC, earlier pleaded guilty to 14 counts of accepting $2,540,000 in total from Kwan Wing-hong as rewards for awarding term consultancy contracts to Kwan and Associates Architects Limited (Kwan and Associates) between August 1998 and August 1999.
Cheung was further charged with one count each of forging nine service orders and conspiracy to defraud KCRC. The court ordered these two charges be left on file.
The court also ordered Cheung to return $2.54 million in restitution to KCRC.
In sentencing, Judge Fergal Sweeney said the case was an elaborate scam.
The judge also noted that though the defendant claimed in his mitigation that he underwent great financial difficulties due to the Asian financial turmoil, this was not an excuse for him to commit corruption.
The judge added that he had taken into consideration the defendant ' s clear record and his guilty plea in sentencing.
The court heard that Cheung was responsible for recommending term consultants to the director of the KCRC ' s Property Division for contracts not exceeding $500,000. When Cheung was offered acting appointments as the director, he had the authority to approve such contracts.
Kwan and Associates was one of KCRC' s term consultants for architectural services, of which Kwan Wing-hong was the director.
The court was told that on August 1, 1998, Cheung solicited a 35 percent illegal rebate from Kwan for every service order awarded to Kwan and Associates. It was later agreed that the bribes would be reduced to 30 percent of the contract value.
Between August 1998 and August 1999, Cheung solicited a total of $2,540,000 in cash from Kwan on various occasions. Kwan had fully paid the illegal rebates as demanded.
As a result, 23 term consultancy contracts, worth $9,738,706 in total, were awarded to Kwan and Associates during the year.
The court was also told that since the award of contracts valued over $500,000 need to be approved by a steering committee of KCRC, Cheung had instructed Kwan to lower the bidding price of various contracts to below $500,000.
The prosecution was today represented by Christopher Coghlan on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officer Diman Mak.