Seven months’ jail for accepting $600,000 bribe
2015-3-3
A former consultant of a petroleum company, charged by the ICAC, was today (Tuesday) sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment at the District Court after he admitted accepting bribes totalling $600,000 in relation to the company’s business.
Zhang Guoqiang, 63, former consultant of Sinopec (Hong Kong) Limited (Sinopec HK), pleaded guilty to one count of agent accepting an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1)(b) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
The prosecution offered no evidence to four other charges of possessing dangerous drugs and poisons against him, which were then placed on court file.
In sentencing, Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi said while probity was the core value of Hong Kong, it was necessary to ensure that a fair and clean environment was in place for doing business.
The judge also ordered the defendant to pay $600,000 as restitution to Sinopec HK.
The court heard that since December 2007, the defendant had worked as the vice chairman cum general manager of Sinopec HK, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly listed China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (CPCC).
After his retirement in May 2012, he was re-employed as a consultant of Sinopec HK. He was responsible for giving advice to the management of Sinopec HK and its subsidiaries, including Sinopec (Hong Kong) Fuel Oil Company Limited (Sinopec Fuel Oil), Sinopec (Hong Kong) Petrol Filling Station Company Limited (Sinopec Petrol Filling), and Sinopec (Hong Kong) Gas Company Limited (Sinopec Gas).
When the defendant was vice chairman and general manager of Sinopec HK, an operator of an investment company and his younger brother made use of Ever Crown (China) Investment Limited (Ever Crown) and Nam Shan Petroleum Transportation Limited (Nam Shan) to trade with and secured various contracts from Sinopec HK and its subsidiaries.
Since 2008, Ever Crown had been purchasing fuel oil from Sinopec Fuel Oil for sale to its customers to earn profits. In April 2009, six months after its incorporation, Nam Shan secured a contract from Sinopec Petrol Filling to deliver fuel oil from the oil terminals of Sinopec HK to the latter’s petrol filling stations in Hong Kong.
In 2012, the operator complained to the defendant that his business with Sinopec Fuel Oil was not lucrative. Upon the operator’s request, the defendant asked the managing director of Sinopec Fuel Oil to ascertain if the terms of the original contract were not favourable to the companies of the operator.
After informing the operator that the terms of the contract could not be changed, the defendant advised him to raise the matter again later.
The court heard that in 2013, the defendant requested the general manager of Sinopec Gas to consider purchasing liquefied petroleum gas from the operator. As a result, the general manager met the operator to discuss the matter, but the operator did not make a deal with Sinopec Gas eventually.
On October 23, 2013, the operator cashed a cheque of $600,000 at a bank. After the withdrawal, he put the banknotes in the denomination of ,000 into a shopping bag and returned to his office in Tsimshatsui.
Later on the same day, the operator brought the shopping bag to the residence of the defendant in Wan Chai. When the defendant was arrested on January 27, 2014, the sum of $600,000 inside the shopping bag was recovered from his residence, the court was told.
CPCC and Sinopec HK had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation.
The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Newman Wong, assisted by ICAC officer Shirley Lau.
Zhang Guoqiang, 63, former consultant of Sinopec (Hong Kong) Limited (Sinopec HK), pleaded guilty to one count of agent accepting an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1)(b) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
The prosecution offered no evidence to four other charges of possessing dangerous drugs and poisons against him, which were then placed on court file.
In sentencing, Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi said while probity was the core value of Hong Kong, it was necessary to ensure that a fair and clean environment was in place for doing business.
The judge also ordered the defendant to pay $600,000 as restitution to Sinopec HK.
The court heard that since December 2007, the defendant had worked as the vice chairman cum general manager of Sinopec HK, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly listed China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (CPCC).
After his retirement in May 2012, he was re-employed as a consultant of Sinopec HK. He was responsible for giving advice to the management of Sinopec HK and its subsidiaries, including Sinopec (Hong Kong) Fuel Oil Company Limited (Sinopec Fuel Oil), Sinopec (Hong Kong) Petrol Filling Station Company Limited (Sinopec Petrol Filling), and Sinopec (Hong Kong) Gas Company Limited (Sinopec Gas).
When the defendant was vice chairman and general manager of Sinopec HK, an operator of an investment company and his younger brother made use of Ever Crown (China) Investment Limited (Ever Crown) and Nam Shan Petroleum Transportation Limited (Nam Shan) to trade with and secured various contracts from Sinopec HK and its subsidiaries.
Since 2008, Ever Crown had been purchasing fuel oil from Sinopec Fuel Oil for sale to its customers to earn profits. In April 2009, six months after its incorporation, Nam Shan secured a contract from Sinopec Petrol Filling to deliver fuel oil from the oil terminals of Sinopec HK to the latter’s petrol filling stations in Hong Kong.
In 2012, the operator complained to the defendant that his business with Sinopec Fuel Oil was not lucrative. Upon the operator’s request, the defendant asked the managing director of Sinopec Fuel Oil to ascertain if the terms of the original contract were not favourable to the companies of the operator.
After informing the operator that the terms of the contract could not be changed, the defendant advised him to raise the matter again later.
The court heard that in 2013, the defendant requested the general manager of Sinopec Gas to consider purchasing liquefied petroleum gas from the operator. As a result, the general manager met the operator to discuss the matter, but the operator did not make a deal with Sinopec Gas eventually.
On October 23, 2013, the operator cashed a cheque of $600,000 at a bank. After the withdrawal, he put the banknotes in the denomination of ,000 into a shopping bag and returned to his office in Tsimshatsui.
Later on the same day, the operator brought the shopping bag to the residence of the defendant in Wan Chai. When the defendant was arrested on January 27, 2014, the sum of $600,000 inside the shopping bag was recovered from his residence, the court was told.
CPCC and Sinopec HK had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation.
The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Newman Wong, assisted by ICAC officer Shirley Lau.