Review of sentence puts three in jail for illegal kickbacks
2000-10-26
Three men earlier convicted of accepting and offering illegal kickbacks were yesterday (Wednesday) ordered to serve immediate custodial sentences after the Department of Justice sought a review of the original community service orders imposed on them.
Ng Hau-chuen, 35, production manager of Top Arts Packaging Manufactory Ltd., and Wan Kwok-sum, 37, and Chan Tsz-kin, 26, both partners of Navigator Express Company (NEC), earlier pleaded guilty to 24 offences under Section 9 of the Prevention of Bribery. They were respectively sentenced to 140, 180 and 100 hours of community service.
Ng admitted having accepted $60,834.50 in total from Wan and Chan in return for placing transportation orders with NEC. Wan and Chan also pleaded guilty to offering bribes to Ng.
Magistrate Ms Eda Loh Lai-kuen at Tsuen Wan Court heard the application from the Department of Justice and handed down a ruling that immediate custodial sentences should be imposed in this case to reflect the seriousness of the offences committed by the d efendants.
Ng was then sentenced to three months in jail while Wan and Chan were respectively ordered to serve four and two months in prison.
The court also ordered that the restitution paid by Ng be reduced from $50,000 to $5,000, while Wan and Chan still had to pay $5,000 in restitution each.
In her judgment, Magistrate Ms Loh cited the Court of Appeal rulings in two bribery cases in which the defendants had their original community service orders replaced by immediate jail sentences.
One of the cases involved a man who offered $500 to an engineer of China Light & Power Company Ltd. for approving the sub-standard electrical installations.
The other case involved three partners of a transportation company convicted of offering bribes to secure transportation orders.
The defendants in these two cases were each ordered by the Court of Appeal to serve three months in jail for the offences.
Welcoming the magistrate's ruling, a spokesman for the ICAC said: "It reflects that the court not only takes a very serious view of corruption found in the public sector but also that connected with business practices, which impedes fair competition.”
The prosecution was yesterday represented by Senior Government Counsel Peter Daryanani, assisted by ICAC officer Albert Liu.
Ng Hau-chuen, 35, production manager of Top Arts Packaging Manufactory Ltd., and Wan Kwok-sum, 37, and Chan Tsz-kin, 26, both partners of Navigator Express Company (NEC), earlier pleaded guilty to 24 offences under Section 9 of the Prevention of Bribery. They were respectively sentenced to 140, 180 and 100 hours of community service.
Ng admitted having accepted $60,834.50 in total from Wan and Chan in return for placing transportation orders with NEC. Wan and Chan also pleaded guilty to offering bribes to Ng.
Magistrate Ms Eda Loh Lai-kuen at Tsuen Wan Court heard the application from the Department of Justice and handed down a ruling that immediate custodial sentences should be imposed in this case to reflect the seriousness of the offences committed by the d efendants.
Ng was then sentenced to three months in jail while Wan and Chan were respectively ordered to serve four and two months in prison.
The court also ordered that the restitution paid by Ng be reduced from $50,000 to $5,000, while Wan and Chan still had to pay $5,000 in restitution each.
In her judgment, Magistrate Ms Loh cited the Court of Appeal rulings in two bribery cases in which the defendants had their original community service orders replaced by immediate jail sentences.
One of the cases involved a man who offered $500 to an engineer of China Light & Power Company Ltd. for approving the sub-standard electrical installations.
The other case involved three partners of a transportation company convicted of offering bribes to secure transportation orders.
The defendants in these two cases were each ordered by the Court of Appeal to serve three months in jail for the offences.
Welcoming the magistrate's ruling, a spokesman for the ICAC said: "It reflects that the court not only takes a very serious view of corruption found in the public sector but also that connected with business practices, which impedes fair competition.”
The prosecution was yesterday represented by Senior Government Counsel Peter Daryanani, assisted by ICAC officer Albert Liu.