Man offering illegal commission to secure $7m hair salon project given suspended jail term
2002-1-17
An unemployed man was today (Thursday) sentenced to six months' imprisonment, suspended for two years, at Tsuen Wan Court for offering illegal commissions to secure a $7 million renovation project for a hair salon.
Yeung Shui-lam, also known as Yeung Bor, 62, was earlier found guilty of one count of offering an illegal commission equivalent to three per cent of the project tender value to an architect.
Magistrate Mr Lambert Lee said he took six months' imprisonment as the starting point to reflect the seriousness of the bribery offence.
A suspended sentence was handed down as the magistrate took into consideration the defendant's remorsefulness, his old age and ill health.
The court heard that Iain Thorburn was employed by Rolling View Limited as the architect to invite tenders for a renovation project for a hair salon at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Wan Chai.
In December 2000, Thorburn approached Yeung to introduce a suitable contractor to place a tender for the project.
Yeung then introduced Kan Chi-shing of Diploma Construction Company (Diploma) to Thorburn.
On March 2, 2001, Yeung told Thorburn that Diploma would submit a tender at $7 million, and he himself would receive a commission equivalent to five per cent of the tender value if Kan's tender was selected.
Yeung also offered to pay Thorburn a three per cent commission plus a mobile telephone as rewards.
Thorburn immediately refused the offer and reported the matter to his employer. A corruption complaint was subsequently made to the ICAC.
On March 7, 2001, Diploma put in a tender at a price of about $5 million, but the bid was not successful.
An ICAC spokesman noted that the architect in this case had not only rejected the corrupt offer but also reported the matter to the Commission without delay, greatly facilitating ICAC's investigations.
"This case again demonstrates that the public's cooperation is so valuable in the successful fight against corruption," the spokesman added.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Hayson Tse, assisted by ICAC officer Raymond Yung.
Yeung Shui-lam, also known as Yeung Bor, 62, was earlier found guilty of one count of offering an illegal commission equivalent to three per cent of the project tender value to an architect.
Magistrate Mr Lambert Lee said he took six months' imprisonment as the starting point to reflect the seriousness of the bribery offence.
A suspended sentence was handed down as the magistrate took into consideration the defendant's remorsefulness, his old age and ill health.
The court heard that Iain Thorburn was employed by Rolling View Limited as the architect to invite tenders for a renovation project for a hair salon at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Wan Chai.
In December 2000, Thorburn approached Yeung to introduce a suitable contractor to place a tender for the project.
Yeung then introduced Kan Chi-shing of Diploma Construction Company (Diploma) to Thorburn.
On March 2, 2001, Yeung told Thorburn that Diploma would submit a tender at $7 million, and he himself would receive a commission equivalent to five per cent of the tender value if Kan's tender was selected.
Yeung also offered to pay Thorburn a three per cent commission plus a mobile telephone as rewards.
Thorburn immediately refused the offer and reported the matter to his employer. A corruption complaint was subsequently made to the ICAC.
On March 7, 2001, Diploma put in a tender at a price of about $5 million, but the bid was not successful.
An ICAC spokesman noted that the architect in this case had not only rejected the corrupt offer but also reported the matter to the Commission without delay, greatly facilitating ICAC's investigations.
"This case again demonstrates that the public's cooperation is so valuable in the successful fight against corruption," the spokesman added.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Hayson Tse, assisted by ICAC officer Raymond Yung.