Subcontractor faces court for allegedly bribing ASD officer over maintenance works
2000-10-12
An engineering company proprietor, who was among 18 persons arrested early this week in connection with suspected bribery scams involving Architectural Services Department (ASD) officers in relation to maintenance works at various government properties, w as charged by the ICAC late last night and appeared in Eastern Court this (Thursday) morning.
Yip Siu-tak, 43, proprietor of Sun Wah Engineering Company (Sun Wah), faced four counts of corruption offences.
Sun Wah is a subcontractor of ASD's maintenance projects.
The charges alleged that Yip had offered a total of $80,000 in bribes to ASD Property Services Officer (PSO) Tse Kam-yan between March 1 and October 9 this year.
The bribes were said to be rewards for Tse to inflate the estimated costs of ASD's works orders issued by him, and to cause prompt release of interim payments for works carried out by Sun Wah in accordance with the relevant works orders.
Yip pleaded not guilty to the offences. Magistrate Mr Patrick Li adjourned the case until November 9 this year for pre-trial review.
The defendant was granted bail of $10,000 in cash. He was ordered not to leave Hong Kong, not to interfere with prosecution witnesses, and to report to the ICAC once a week.
Meanwhile, 11 serving ASD officers and seven civilians were arrested in the operation "Twister" conducted early this week.
The ASD officers arrested were all attached to ASD's Property Services Branch, which is responsible for overseeing the maintenance works of government properties throughout the territory.
Apart from PSO Tse, other ASD officers arrested were a Senior Property Services Officer, four Assistant Property Services Officers, three Senior Survey Officers, a Survey Officer, and a Works Supervisor.
Among the civilians arrested were Yip, another company proprietor, three quantity surveyors and two foremen of Sun Wah.
The investigation originated from a corruption complaint alleging that some ASD officers had accepted advantages from ASD subcontractors to cover up false claims.
ICAC inquiries indicated that the arrested ASD officers had allegedly accepted advantages in return for offering assistance to the subcontractor, including inflating the estimated costs of various maintenance projects and expediting the payments.
The management of ASD has rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation.
All other arrestees have been released on ICAC bail, pending further inquiries.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Winnie Ho, assisted by ICAC officer Jimmy Wong.
Yip Siu-tak, 43, proprietor of Sun Wah Engineering Company (Sun Wah), faced four counts of corruption offences.
Sun Wah is a subcontractor of ASD's maintenance projects.
The charges alleged that Yip had offered a total of $80,000 in bribes to ASD Property Services Officer (PSO) Tse Kam-yan between March 1 and October 9 this year.
The bribes were said to be rewards for Tse to inflate the estimated costs of ASD's works orders issued by him, and to cause prompt release of interim payments for works carried out by Sun Wah in accordance with the relevant works orders.
Yip pleaded not guilty to the offences. Magistrate Mr Patrick Li adjourned the case until November 9 this year for pre-trial review.
The defendant was granted bail of $10,000 in cash. He was ordered not to leave Hong Kong, not to interfere with prosecution witnesses, and to report to the ICAC once a week.
Meanwhile, 11 serving ASD officers and seven civilians were arrested in the operation "Twister" conducted early this week.
The ASD officers arrested were all attached to ASD's Property Services Branch, which is responsible for overseeing the maintenance works of government properties throughout the territory.
Apart from PSO Tse, other ASD officers arrested were a Senior Property Services Officer, four Assistant Property Services Officers, three Senior Survey Officers, a Survey Officer, and a Works Supervisor.
Among the civilians arrested were Yip, another company proprietor, three quantity surveyors and two foremen of Sun Wah.
The investigation originated from a corruption complaint alleging that some ASD officers had accepted advantages from ASD subcontractors to cover up false claims.
ICAC inquiries indicated that the arrested ASD officers had allegedly accepted advantages in return for offering assistance to the subcontractor, including inflating the estimated costs of various maintenance projects and expediting the payments.
The management of ASD has rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation.
All other arrestees have been released on ICAC bail, pending further inquiries.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Winnie Ho, assisted by ICAC officer Jimmy Wong.