Ex-manager of private wet market charged by ICAC jailed for bribery and theft involving $190,000
2022-4-22
A former manager of a private wet market, charged by the ICAC, was today (April 22) sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment at the District Court after admitting that he had accepted bribes totalling $34,000 from two tenants over stall leasing matters and had stolen rents totalling over $157,000 from three other tenants.
Yip Wing-shing, 61, former market manager of Capital Mark Investment Limited (Capital Mark), pleaded guilty to 13 charges – two of agent accepting an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance; and 11 of theft, contrary to Section 9 of the Theft Ordinance. Three other theft charges against the defendant were left on file at the District Court.
In sentencing, Judge Frankie Yiu Fun-che said bribery and theft are both serious offences, warranting an immediate custodial sentence. The judge also ordered the defendant to pay $25,000, being the unreturned bribe, as restitution to Capital Mark.
At the material time, Capital Mark was the operator of the wet market of Sunshine City Plaza in Ma On Shan. The defendant was a market manager responsible for the daily operation of the wet market, including handling tenancy matters and collecting rents from tenants. If a tenant failed to pay rents on or before the due date, the defendant was required to collect the accrued interest from the latter.
In September 2018 and January 2019, the defendant respectively accepted $9,000 and $25,000 from an electrician and a restaurant operator for referring the electrician to sublease a stall and referring another stall to the restaurant operator. The defendant subsequently returned the bribe of $9,000 to the electrician.
The court heard that Capital Mark did not allow the defendant to solicit or accept advantages from tenants in relation to tenancy matters of the market.
On 10 occasions between December 2017 and June 2019, the defendant requested another restaurant operator and a fish stall owner to settle the rent and accrued interest owed by their stalls to Capital Mark. He collected 10 cheques in the total sum of over $130,000 from the two tenants, but Capital Mark had never received those rents or interest payments.
ICAC enquiries revealed that nine of the cheques were eventually deposited into the personal bank accounts of the defendant and the remaining cheque was deposited into a bank account of a friend of the defendant.
The court also heard that between June and November 2019, the defendant further collected cash totalling $390,000 from a fruit stall owner as rent and rental arrears to Capital Mark. However, Capital Mark only received $367,000, and the remaining sum of about $23,000 had never been deposited into its bank account.
Capital Market has rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Marcus Lee, assisted by ICAC officer Patrick Yu.
Yip Wing-shing, 61, former market manager of Capital Mark Investment Limited (Capital Mark), pleaded guilty to 13 charges – two of agent accepting an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance; and 11 of theft, contrary to Section 9 of the Theft Ordinance. Three other theft charges against the defendant were left on file at the District Court.
In sentencing, Judge Frankie Yiu Fun-che said bribery and theft are both serious offences, warranting an immediate custodial sentence. The judge also ordered the defendant to pay $25,000, being the unreturned bribe, as restitution to Capital Mark.
At the material time, Capital Mark was the operator of the wet market of Sunshine City Plaza in Ma On Shan. The defendant was a market manager responsible for the daily operation of the wet market, including handling tenancy matters and collecting rents from tenants. If a tenant failed to pay rents on or before the due date, the defendant was required to collect the accrued interest from the latter.
In September 2018 and January 2019, the defendant respectively accepted $9,000 and $25,000 from an electrician and a restaurant operator for referring the electrician to sublease a stall and referring another stall to the restaurant operator. The defendant subsequently returned the bribe of $9,000 to the electrician.
The court heard that Capital Mark did not allow the defendant to solicit or accept advantages from tenants in relation to tenancy matters of the market.
On 10 occasions between December 2017 and June 2019, the defendant requested another restaurant operator and a fish stall owner to settle the rent and accrued interest owed by their stalls to Capital Mark. He collected 10 cheques in the total sum of over $130,000 from the two tenants, but Capital Mark had never received those rents or interest payments.
ICAC enquiries revealed that nine of the cheques were eventually deposited into the personal bank accounts of the defendant and the remaining cheque was deposited into a bank account of a friend of the defendant.
The court also heard that between June and November 2019, the defendant further collected cash totalling $390,000 from a fruit stall owner as rent and rental arrears to Capital Mark. However, Capital Mark only received $367,000, and the remaining sum of about $23,000 had never been deposited into its bank account.
Capital Market has rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Marcus Lee, assisted by ICAC officer Patrick Yu.