Forty months’ jail for offering $600,000 bribes over small house projects
2018-8-17
A developer and his associate, charged by the ICAC, were today (August 17) each sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment at the District Court of conspiracy to offer bribes totalling $600,000 to a village resident representative for not opposing small house development projects of the developer in a village in Tai Po.
Developer Chan Kam-biu, 63, director-cum-shareholder of Rockent Development Limited (Rockent), and his associate Ho Nin-sung, 59, retired, were yesterday found guilty of two joint charges of conspiracy to offer an advantage to an agent, contrary to Section 9(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
In sentencing, Judge Mr Stanley Chan Kwong-chi described the case, which involved a huge amount of bribes, as the tip of an iceberg.
The judge said the bribery offences committed by the defendants were serious in nature. He had to mete out deterrent custodial sentences to them, otherwise it would give a wrong signal to members of the public.
The judge also ordered that $60,000 out of the $600,000 bribes, which was already paid to the village resident representative by the defendants, be confiscated.
The court heard that at the material time, Chan was a director-cum-shareholder of Rockent, a property and land developer. He intended to build 10 small houses in Lai Chi Shan Village in Tai Po.
In December 2014, a resident representative of the village wrote on behalf of villagers to the Lands Department (LD) to object to one of the small house applications after consulting them.
The LD wrote to Chan informing him that the resident representative objected to the small house application. As a result, the LD was yet to decide whether to approve the application.
The court heard that on September 29, 2016, the resident representative and Ho met at a restaurant. Ho asked the resident representative how much he wanted for not opposing the small house application.
On several other occasions, Ho told the resident representative that Chan would pay him $60,000 if he wrote to the LD to withdraw the objection to the small house application. Ho further promised that the resident representative would be paid $60,000 on January 19, 2017.
In the afternoon on that day, the resident representative met Ho at a restaurant. Later on, Ho handed over the cash bribe of $60,000 to the resident representative.
At the restaurant, Ho also reiterated that Chan would pay the resident representative a total of $540,000, or $60,000 each, for refraining from raising any objection on behalf of the villagers to the applications for building nine other small houses in the village, the court was told.
The LD had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Flora Cheng, assisted by ICAC officer Ming Lee.
Developer Chan Kam-biu, 63, director-cum-shareholder of Rockent Development Limited (Rockent), and his associate Ho Nin-sung, 59, retired, were yesterday found guilty of two joint charges of conspiracy to offer an advantage to an agent, contrary to Section 9(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
In sentencing, Judge Mr Stanley Chan Kwong-chi described the case, which involved a huge amount of bribes, as the tip of an iceberg.
The judge said the bribery offences committed by the defendants were serious in nature. He had to mete out deterrent custodial sentences to them, otherwise it would give a wrong signal to members of the public.
The judge also ordered that $60,000 out of the $600,000 bribes, which was already paid to the village resident representative by the defendants, be confiscated.
The court heard that at the material time, Chan was a director-cum-shareholder of Rockent, a property and land developer. He intended to build 10 small houses in Lai Chi Shan Village in Tai Po.
In December 2014, a resident representative of the village wrote on behalf of villagers to the Lands Department (LD) to object to one of the small house applications after consulting them.
The LD wrote to Chan informing him that the resident representative objected to the small house application. As a result, the LD was yet to decide whether to approve the application.
The court heard that on September 29, 2016, the resident representative and Ho met at a restaurant. Ho asked the resident representative how much he wanted for not opposing the small house application.
On several other occasions, Ho told the resident representative that Chan would pay him $60,000 if he wrote to the LD to withdraw the objection to the small house application. Ho further promised that the resident representative would be paid $60,000 on January 19, 2017.
In the afternoon on that day, the resident representative met Ho at a restaurant. Later on, Ho handed over the cash bribe of $60,000 to the resident representative.
At the restaurant, Ho also reiterated that Chan would pay the resident representative a total of $540,000, or $60,000 each, for refraining from raising any objection on behalf of the villagers to the applications for building nine other small houses in the village, the court was told.
The LD had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Flora Cheng, assisted by ICAC officer Ming Lee.