Trio charged with $900,000 bribery over food supplies to eateries
2019-5-28
An operator of a frozen meat supplier, a supervisor of a Chinese restaurant and a supervisor of a hotel have been charged by the ICAC today (May 28) in three separate cases with respectively conspiracy to offer and accept illegal rebates or “tea money” totalling over $900,000 in relation to the supply of foods to the eateries.
In the first case, Cheung Chi-chiu, 46, operator of Cheung Sum Kee (CSK), faces four charges of conspiracy to offer advantages to an agent, contrary to Section 9(2) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO) and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
Cheung Chi-chiu will appear at the West Kowloon Magistracy on Thursday (May 30) for transfer of the case to the District Court for plea.
At the material time, Cheung Chi-chiu was an operator of CSK, a supplier of frozen porklings to different eateries in Hong Kong, including Nanhai No.1 (NH1) and InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong (IGS). Chan Sang-pan was a supervisor of NH1, while Chan Chiu-fai was a supervisor of IGS.
The charges allege that between January 1, 2014 and January 3, 2018, Cheung Chi-chiu conspired together with Chan Sang-pan, Chan Chiu-fai or two other persons to, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, offer rebates ranging from over $129,000 to about $285,000, totalling over $870,000, to them as rewards for not making complaints about the quality of foods supplied by CSK.
In another case, Chan Sang-pan, 50, supervisor of NH1, faces two charges of conspiracy to accept advantages as an agent, contrary to Section 9(1) of the POBO and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
Chan Sang-pan will appear at the West Kowloon Magistracy on Thursday (May 30) for plea.
At the material time, Chan Sang-pan was the supervisor of the Chinese barbecue section of NH1. He was responsible for preparing roasted meat dishes and placing orders with food suppliers, including CSK.
One of the charges alleges that between July 1, 2017 and January 3, 2018, Chan Sang-pan conspired together with Cheung Chi-chiu for Chan Sang-pan to, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, accept rebates totalling about $15,000 from him as rewards for causing NH1 to place orders of frozen porklings with CSK.
The other charge alleges that between July 1, 2017 and January 1, 2018, Chan Sang-pan conspired together with the operator of another food supplier for Chan Sang-pan to, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, accept “tea money” totalling about $2,500 from the operator as rewards for causing NH1 to place orders of poultry products with the food supplier.
In the remaining case, Chan Chiu-fai, 51, supervisor of IGS, faces a charge of conspiracy to accept advantages as an agent, contrary to Section 9(1) of the POBO and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
Chan Chiu-fai will appear at the West Kowloon Magistracy on Thursday (May 30) for plea.
At the material time, Chan Chiu-fai worked as the supervisor of the Chinese barbecue section of IGS. He was responsible for preparing roasted meat dishes.
The charge alleges that between September 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017, Chan Chiu-fai conspired together with Cheung Chi-chiu and two other operators of CSK for Chan Chiu-fai to, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, accept rebates totalling about $24,000 from them as rewards for providing tip-off information to CSK about IGS’ comments on its food suppliers, including CSK.
The eateries concerned have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the cases.
The defendants have been released on ICAC bail, pending their court appearance on Thursday.
In the first case, Cheung Chi-chiu, 46, operator of Cheung Sum Kee (CSK), faces four charges of conspiracy to offer advantages to an agent, contrary to Section 9(2) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO) and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
Cheung Chi-chiu will appear at the West Kowloon Magistracy on Thursday (May 30) for transfer of the case to the District Court for plea.
At the material time, Cheung Chi-chiu was an operator of CSK, a supplier of frozen porklings to different eateries in Hong Kong, including Nanhai No.1 (NH1) and InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong (IGS). Chan Sang-pan was a supervisor of NH1, while Chan Chiu-fai was a supervisor of IGS.
The charges allege that between January 1, 2014 and January 3, 2018, Cheung Chi-chiu conspired together with Chan Sang-pan, Chan Chiu-fai or two other persons to, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, offer rebates ranging from over $129,000 to about $285,000, totalling over $870,000, to them as rewards for not making complaints about the quality of foods supplied by CSK.
In another case, Chan Sang-pan, 50, supervisor of NH1, faces two charges of conspiracy to accept advantages as an agent, contrary to Section 9(1) of the POBO and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
Chan Sang-pan will appear at the West Kowloon Magistracy on Thursday (May 30) for plea.
At the material time, Chan Sang-pan was the supervisor of the Chinese barbecue section of NH1. He was responsible for preparing roasted meat dishes and placing orders with food suppliers, including CSK.
One of the charges alleges that between July 1, 2017 and January 3, 2018, Chan Sang-pan conspired together with Cheung Chi-chiu for Chan Sang-pan to, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, accept rebates totalling about $15,000 from him as rewards for causing NH1 to place orders of frozen porklings with CSK.
The other charge alleges that between July 1, 2017 and January 1, 2018, Chan Sang-pan conspired together with the operator of another food supplier for Chan Sang-pan to, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, accept “tea money” totalling about $2,500 from the operator as rewards for causing NH1 to place orders of poultry products with the food supplier.
In the remaining case, Chan Chiu-fai, 51, supervisor of IGS, faces a charge of conspiracy to accept advantages as an agent, contrary to Section 9(1) of the POBO and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
Chan Chiu-fai will appear at the West Kowloon Magistracy on Thursday (May 30) for plea.
At the material time, Chan Chiu-fai worked as the supervisor of the Chinese barbecue section of IGS. He was responsible for preparing roasted meat dishes.
The charge alleges that between September 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017, Chan Chiu-fai conspired together with Cheung Chi-chiu and two other operators of CSK for Chan Chiu-fai to, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, accept rebates totalling about $24,000 from them as rewards for providing tip-off information to CSK about IGS’ comments on its food suppliers, including CSK.
The eateries concerned have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the cases.
The defendants have been released on ICAC bail, pending their court appearance on Thursday.