Six persons, who were masterminds charged by the ICAC, were today (Friday) sentenced to various jail terms at the District Court for conspiracy to defraud the Student Financial Assistance Agency (SFAA) of Non-means Tested Loans (NTLs) totalling over $7.5 million.

The ICAC confirms that it is assisting the Police Commercial Crime Bureau in investigating a suspected case of perverting the course of public justice, and will render full cooperation to the Police in the investigation.

In response to media enquiries, an ICAC spokesman today (Wednesday) confirmed that 29 persons have been arrested for suspected bribery in relation to applications for membership of the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC).

Two Senior Police Constables (SPCs) and 11 pawnshop staff members have appeared at Kowloon City Magistracy in separate cases after being charged by the ICAC for accepting and offering “ laisees ” during the Lunar New Year.

A barrister, charged by the ICAC, was today (Tuesday) sentenced to one year’s imprisonment at the District Court for attempting to steal more than HK$30,000 from two foreign clients by claiming that the sums would be used for hiring a Queen’s Counsel (QC) for them.

Five former employees of Imperial Hotel, charged by the ICAC, were today (Monday) sent to jail for accepting “tea money” totalling over $60,000 from taxi drivers for referring hotel guests to hire their services.

As the nomination period for the Village Representative (VR) Elections starts today (Saturday), the ICAC has rolled out a multi-faceted education and publicity programme to remind voters and candidates of the importance to keep the election clean and fair .

A Senior Police Constable today (Wednesday) appeared at Eastern Magistracy after being charged by the ICAC for alleged misconduct and forgery in relation to a police investigation into a theft case.

Grand Chief Prosecutor and Supreme People’s Procuratorate’s (SPP) Procurator General Mr Cao Jianming led a delegation comprising provincial chief procurators to visit the ICAC yesterday (Monday) to step up mutual liaison and explore further cooperation in training anti-corruption personnel.

Agencies around the world must reach out to each other beyond the ambit of formal agreements in battling corruption and combating criminals who exhaust all avenues to evade the course of justice and conceal their ill-gotten gains.