Ex-senior quantity surveyor jailed for soliciting and accepting illegal rebates
2014-10-20
A former senior quantity surveyor of a marble and granite engineering company, charged by the ICAC, was today (Monday) sentenced to three months’ imprisonment at the Eastern Magistracy after admitting that he had solicited and accepted illegal rebates totalling over $150,000 from contractors in relation to project payments.
Pang Chi-on, 51, former senior quantity surveyor of Pacific Marble & Granite (HK) Limited (PMG), pleaded guilty to one count of agent soliciting an advantage and two of agent accepting an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1) of the Prevention of Bribery Or dinance.
In sentencing, Deputy Magistrate Colin Wong Sze-cheung said the bribery offences committed by the defendant were of a serious nature, thus warranting a custodial sentence.
The deputy magistrate added that the starting point of six months in jail was reduced to three months after taking into account the defendant’s guilty plea and other mitigation factors.
The court heard that at the material time, the defendant, while employed by PMG, was tasked to prepare payment certificates for recommending the amount of project payments to be released by PMG to contractors after inspecting and verifying the works done by them at various sites.
In around March 2012, PMG engaged a metal engineering company to install 525 sets of ironmongery of bathtub and toilet tank at the site of a residential estate in West Kowloon (the project).
On March 23, 2012, the defendant met the operator of the metal engineering company at a restaurant in Yaumatei. During the meeting, the defendant solicited from the operator rebates of $100 and $80 respectively for each set of ironmongery of bathtub and toilet tank installed for the project.
The defendant wrote down on a piece of paper the breakdown of the illegal rebates, totalling $94,500, and gave it to the operator. But the operator had neither made any response to the solicitation nor paid any rebate to the defendant.
The court heard that between 2011 and 2012, PMG engaged a director of a marble engineering company to provide the project with marble installation services.
On an unknown day before August 24, 2012, the defendant called the director to ask for an unspecified amount of rebate after PMG had approved to make a project payment of $1.5 million to him.
The director then invited the defendant to a dinner at a restaurant in Wan Chai. On board a taxi heading to the restaurant, the defendant received $30,000 in cash from the director as a reward for verifying the project payment.
On September 28, 2012, the director received another project payment of $3 million from PMG.
The defendant invited the director to a dinner at a restaurant in Yaumatei. During the journey to the restaurant on board a taxi, the defendant received another $30,000 in cash from the director for the same purpose, the court was told.
The prosecution was today represented by Acting Senior Public Prosecutor Karen Yuen, assisted by ICAC officer Dickson Liang.
Pang Chi-on, 51, former senior quantity surveyor of Pacific Marble & Granite (HK) Limited (PMG), pleaded guilty to one count of agent soliciting an advantage and two of agent accepting an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1) of the Prevention of Bribery Or dinance.
In sentencing, Deputy Magistrate Colin Wong Sze-cheung said the bribery offences committed by the defendant were of a serious nature, thus warranting a custodial sentence.
The deputy magistrate added that the starting point of six months in jail was reduced to three months after taking into account the defendant’s guilty plea and other mitigation factors.
The court heard that at the material time, the defendant, while employed by PMG, was tasked to prepare payment certificates for recommending the amount of project payments to be released by PMG to contractors after inspecting and verifying the works done by them at various sites.
In around March 2012, PMG engaged a metal engineering company to install 525 sets of ironmongery of bathtub and toilet tank at the site of a residential estate in West Kowloon (the project).
On March 23, 2012, the defendant met the operator of the metal engineering company at a restaurant in Yaumatei. During the meeting, the defendant solicited from the operator rebates of $100 and $80 respectively for each set of ironmongery of bathtub and toilet tank installed for the project.
The defendant wrote down on a piece of paper the breakdown of the illegal rebates, totalling $94,500, and gave it to the operator. But the operator had neither made any response to the solicitation nor paid any rebate to the defendant.
The court heard that between 2011 and 2012, PMG engaged a director of a marble engineering company to provide the project with marble installation services.
On an unknown day before August 24, 2012, the defendant called the director to ask for an unspecified amount of rebate after PMG had approved to make a project payment of $1.5 million to him.
The director then invited the defendant to a dinner at a restaurant in Wan Chai. On board a taxi heading to the restaurant, the defendant received $30,000 in cash from the director as a reward for verifying the project payment.
On September 28, 2012, the director received another project payment of $3 million from PMG.
The defendant invited the director to a dinner at a restaurant in Yaumatei. During the journey to the restaurant on board a taxi, the defendant received another $30,000 in cash from the director for the same purpose, the court was told.
The prosecution was today represented by Acting Senior Public Prosecutor Karen Yuen, assisted by ICAC officer Dickson Liang.