Two then site team leaders of a sub-contractor of the Third Runway Project of the Hong Kong International Airport (Third Runway Project), charged by the ICAC in separate cases, were both sentenced to three months’ imprisonment today (February 21) at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts for accepting bribes totalling about $300,000 from over 30 workers over their employment, and perverting the course of public justice in the Commission’s investigation by instructing workers to falsely claimed that they had not paid bribes.

The Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption (HKIAAC) established by the ICAC early last year as well as the Commission’s induction course recently garnered a Level 5 accreditation in the Qualifications Framework (QF), further strengthening the professionalism and international recognition of anti-graft training provided by the ICAC. Presenting the accreditation to the Commission, the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) acknowledged that the ICAC had set a benchmark for the standard of global anti-corruption professionals and that the council looked forward to collaborating with the Commission to further contribute to the global integrity training initiative.

The ICAC and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are jointly running a nine-day “Professional Development Programme on Financial Investigation and Asset Recovery” for the second time in Hong Kong, following overwhelming response to last year’s course. A total of 19 countries, including eight new players, have sent representatives to participate in this year’s programme which aims to enhance global capabilities for combatting corruption and financial crimes.

Deputy Commissioner and Head of Operations of the Hong Kong ICAC, Ricky Yau Shu-chun, led a delegation to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna, Austria to attend a two-day meeting (February 11 and 12) of the Steering Committee of the Global Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Agencies Network (GlobE Network). The chair of the meeting expressed gratitude to Hong Kong for providing capacity building courses to global anti-corruption agencies, and stated it was the GlobE Network’s express wish that the ICAC would continue to contribute to the international anti-graft cause and foster global collaboration in the fight against corruption.

A then employee of a design consultancy and three others were charged by the ICAC today (February 12) for allegedly conspiring together for the employee to accept bribes of over $230,000 for assisting two works contractors to secure two renovation projects of Japanese chain stores involving project fees totalling over $25 million.

An ICAC corruption investigation earlier revealed a dummy insurance agents’ scheme where individuals had conspired together to defraud two insurers of commissions totalling about $52 million by making false representations about the handling agents of 478 insurance policies and to launder crime proceeds. A then branch manager of an insurer, who recruited various individuals to take part in the plot, was today sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment at the District Court while 10 dummy insurance agents received jail terms ranging from 11 to 22 months.

In late 2003, the ICAC smashed a fraud syndicate which recruited individuals to defraud the Housing Authority (HA) of interest-free home assistance loans totalling over $10 million and three banks of mortgage loans in a total sum of over $5 million by falsifying the occupations and incomes of dummy applicants, resulting in the prosecution of over 30 persons, including backbone members of the syndicate and dummy applicants. The head of the syndicate, who had been wanted by the ICAC since 2004 after jumping bail, was charged upon returning to Hong Kong. A court mention was conducted in the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts this afternoon (February 7).

An ICAC corruption investigation earlier revealed that a certified public accountant had stolen over USD1.25 million in total from two companies when he served as a trustee handling their business and financial affairs. The defendant, convicted of theft after trial, was today (February 7) sentenced to five years’ imprisonment at the District Court.

A small house applicant, charged by the ICAC, today (February 7) admitted at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts that he had conspired with a developer to sell his “Ding Right” and deceive the Lands Department into granting him a building licence for a small house in Sai Kung.

A then principal of a government-aided primary school, charged by the ICAC, today (February 6) admitted at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts that he had made false representations about not receiving salary payments and being authorised to withdraw funds for organising activities to deceive the school into making duplicate salary payments to him for two months and granting him school funds totalling over $270,000.