The ICAC has arrested five persons, including a manager and an analyst programmer of a department store, for alleged bribery and defrauding the company in relation to the purchase of computer and related equipment.

Also arrested in yesterday's operation codenamed " Heng Shan" were two directors of two suppliers and a staff member of a third supplier.

The investigation arose from a corruption complaint, alleging that a manager and analyst programmer of a department store might have accepted advantages from suppliers.

ICAC enquiries revealed that the arrested analyst programmer of the department store, who was responsible for seeking quotations from computer suppliers and making purchase recommendations, had allegedly inflated the quotations from suppliers.

It was alleged that the quoted prices of the computer and related equipment were grossly above the market rates.

The arrested analyst programmer was believed to have offered at least $100,000 in bribes to the manager for approving the alleged inflated quotations.

It was alleged that the arrested analyst programmer and manager then submitted false invoices to defraud the department store.

As a result of the suspected corrupt and fraudulent scam, the arrested analyst programmer had allegedly pocketed price differences totalling about $500,000 between March 2004 and May this year from the purchase of computer and related equipment worth $2.2 million.

ICAC enquiries are continuing.