Ex-procurement manager ordered to serve 8 months in jail for illegal rebates
2012-3-22
A former procurement manager of Hong Kong Cable Television Limited (Cable TV), charged by the ICAC, was today (Thursday) ordered by the Court of Appeal to serve eight months in jail for soliciting $120,000 illegal rebates after the Department of Justice ( DoJ) sought a review of his suspended sentence.
Tang Shu-cheong, 47, earlier pleaded guilty at Tsuen Wan Magistracy to three counts of public servant soliciting an advantage, contrary to Section 4(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
The magistrate sentenced him to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered him to pay a fine of $45,000.
The DoJ subsequently made an application for a review of Tang’s suspended sentence.
The application was today heard by Mr Justice Peter Cheung Chak-yau, and Madam Justice Maria Yuen Ka-ning, both judges of the Court of Appeal, and Madam Justice Barnes of the Court of First Instance.
In delivering the verdict in removing the order for the suspended sentence imposed by the trial magistrate, Mr Justice Peter Cheung described corruption as a tumor in a society.
The judge said after years of efforts, Hong Kong had successfully built a clean city, in which corruption would not be tolerated.
If a punishment failed to deter offenders, it would send a wrong signal to the public that the court had placed less weight on the seriousness of corruption, the judge added.
The court heard that at the material times, the defendant was the head of the procurement department of Cable TV. He was responsible for purchasing networking products.
In February 2010, the defendant requested from a network cabling accessories supplier a rebate of $2 for each adaptor supplied to Cable TV.
In October, the defendant further solicited from the supplier a rebate equivalent to five per cent of the purchase price for each optical node supplied to Cable TV, the court heard.
The defendant then lowered his solicitation to $10,000 per month for a period of 12 months, amounting to $120,000 in total. But his request was turned down by the supplier.
One month later, the defendant sent a text message to the supplier, asking for the rebates of $120,000 again, the court was told.
Cable TV had rendered full assistance to the ICAC in the investigation.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Alex Lee, assisted by ICAC officer Lawrence Hong.
Tang Shu-cheong, 47, earlier pleaded guilty at Tsuen Wan Magistracy to three counts of public servant soliciting an advantage, contrary to Section 4(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
The magistrate sentenced him to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered him to pay a fine of $45,000.
The DoJ subsequently made an application for a review of Tang’s suspended sentence.
The application was today heard by Mr Justice Peter Cheung Chak-yau, and Madam Justice Maria Yuen Ka-ning, both judges of the Court of Appeal, and Madam Justice Barnes of the Court of First Instance.
In delivering the verdict in removing the order for the suspended sentence imposed by the trial magistrate, Mr Justice Peter Cheung described corruption as a tumor in a society.
The judge said after years of efforts, Hong Kong had successfully built a clean city, in which corruption would not be tolerated.
If a punishment failed to deter offenders, it would send a wrong signal to the public that the court had placed less weight on the seriousness of corruption, the judge added.
The court heard that at the material times, the defendant was the head of the procurement department of Cable TV. He was responsible for purchasing networking products.
In February 2010, the defendant requested from a network cabling accessories supplier a rebate of $2 for each adaptor supplied to Cable TV.
In October, the defendant further solicited from the supplier a rebate equivalent to five per cent of the purchase price for each optical node supplied to Cable TV, the court heard.
The defendant then lowered his solicitation to $10,000 per month for a period of 12 months, amounting to $120,000 in total. But his request was turned down by the supplier.
One month later, the defendant sent a text message to the supplier, asking for the rebates of $120,000 again, the court was told.
Cable TV had rendered full assistance to the ICAC in the investigation.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Alex Lee, assisted by ICAC officer Lawrence Hong.