Recent ICAC Cases


29
Apr 2025
Duty-free store duo charged by ICAC jailed for conspiracy to defraud over $12m inflated prices red wine purchasesTwo former senior executives of a duty-free chain store, charged by the ICAC with conspiracy to defraud, were today (April 29) sentenced at the District Court to jail terms of 57 months and 14 months respectively for concealing their conflicting interest in companies set up by them over purchase and resell of bottled red wine sourced from a French supplier by inflating the prices by $12 million.Au Tsz-kei, 71, former merchandising and buying director of Sky Connection Limited (Sky Connection), was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment. He was earlier found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law.Co-defendant Lau Shu-yin, 78, former general manager of Sky Connection, who earlier pleaded guilty to the offence, was today jailed for 14 months.In sentencing, Judge Mr Clement Lee Hing-nin remarked that he took a starting point of eight years’ imprisonment in the present case as the duo committed a premeditated crime spanning over six years involving a defrauded sum of over $1.2 million. Their sentences were reduced, having considered their mitigations, including the fact that they had both reached the age of 70 during the trial and the restitution of their personal gains to Sky Connection. Lau received a further reduction in his jail term in view of his guilty plea and his assistance rendered to the prosecution in the trial.The present case arose from a corruption complaint received by the ICAC in mid-2019. At the material time, Sky Connection sold duty-free goods under the business name “Free Duty”. The merchandising and buying department, headed by Au, used to source bottled red wine from a winery in France directly for sale at “Free Duty” shops.The court heard that since August 2004, the two defendants had arranged Sky Connection to place purchase orders with the French winery via Jetfair Development Limited (Jetfair) and Master Good Trading Limited (Master Good). Between August 2004 and May 2011, Sky Connection had placed 56 purchase orders incurring payments totalling over $26 million through Jetfair and Master Good. ICAC enquiries revealed that Jetfair and Master Good had actually sourced the 56 batches of bottled red wine from the French winery at over $14 million and resold them to Sky Connection at inflated prices, causing Sky Connection to make extra payments of over $12 million.The ICAC investigation also revealed that Master Good and Jetfair were in fact funded by individuals including Au and Lau. Lau and his daughter were respectively the sole shareholder-cum-director of Master Good and Jetfair. Sky Connection required its staff to declare any conflict of interest and prohibited them from engaging in any business which might have a conflict with the company. But Au and Lau had never disclosed to Sky Connection their associations with Master Good and Jetfair.In addition, Au and Lau each shared part of the generated profits in the scam under an agreement. Lau had earlier admitted that he had received $2 million in total.Sky Connection rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Mickey Fung, assisted by ICAC officer May Lam.
24
Apr 2025
Six months’ jail for site team leader of Third Runway Project guilty of bribery and blackmailA site team leader of a sub-contractor of the Third Runway Project of the Hong Kong International Airport (Third Runway Project), charged by the ICAC, was today (April 24) sentenced to six months’ imprisonment at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts after being convicted of accepting bribes totalling about $44,000 from a carpenter and blackmail.Chow Kwai-fai, 50, former site team leader of MLife Engineering Limited (MEL), was convicted of two charges, namely one count of agent accepting an advantage, contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, and one count of blackmail, contrary to section 23(1) of the Theft Ordinance.In sentencing, Magistrate Ms Vivian Ho Wai-han remarked that bribery is a serious crime, warranting a custodial sentence. The court also ordered Chow to pay MEL a restitution of about $44,000, equivalent to the amount of bribes he received in the present case.At the material time, MEL was a sub-contractor of the Third Runway Project responsible for recruiting construction workers to conduct various works. Chow led a team of carpenters to work at the project’s construction site and had the authority to assign work to workers. MEL did not allow any employees to solicit or accept any advantages from other employees for assisting the latter to secure their employment with the company.The court heard that between October 2020 and April 2021, Chow had requested a carpenter under his supervision to pay him a bribe of $350 per working day. Chow told the carpenter to quit the job had he refused to pay bribes. The carpenter believed that Chow would terminate him if he did not accede to Chow’s solicitation, and paid bribes totalling $44,000 to Chow reluctantly.Another team leader, He Yuchuan, 57, charged in the present case, earlier received a jail term of seven months after pleading guilty to six counts of agent accepting an advantage. He was also ordered to pay MEL a restitution of about $160,000, equivalent to the amount of bribes he received from four workers.The Airport Authority Hong Kong, the relevant main contractor SAPR JV and MEL rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Mickey Fung, and assisted by ICAC officer Lawrence Wong.
22
Apr 2025
Ex-manager of fabric company charged by ICAC gets 30 months’ jail for $1m fraudulent orders and money launderingA former project manager of a fabric company, charged by the ICAC for making false representations to cause three customers to place orders worth totalling about $1 million with companies owned by his associates and laundering crime proceeds of about $720,000, was today (April 22) sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment at the District Court.Li Ka-wing, 53, former project manager of Showtex Hong Kong Limited (Showtex HK), was today sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment. He earlier pleaded guilty to a total of nine charges, namely three counts of fraud and one of attempted fraud, contrary to section 16A of the Theft Ordinance and section 159G of the Crimes Ordinance; as well as five counts of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence (commonly known as money laundering), contrary to section 25(1) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.In sentencing, Deputy Judge Ms Amy Chan Wai-mun remarked that the present case was serious in nature. She reprimanded the defendant for orchestrating the fraudulent scheme, in breach of the trust that was placed on him.A co-defendant of the case, Zhao Bingguo, 42, operator of Maban Trading Co., Limited (Maban), earlier pleaded guilty to the aforesaid five counts of money laundering at the District Court and received a jail term of one year.Li was a project manager of Showtex HK responsible for sourcing business when the offences took place between June 2018 and April 2019. Showtex HK supplied flame retardant curtain fabrics, installed stage projection screen and provided event decoration services.The court heard that Li had made false representations to three customers of ShowtexHK, respectively claiming that Maban and another multimedia company were subcontractors of Showtex HK, dealt with the same factory with Showtex HK or Showtex HK was unable to provide relevant services, causing the three aforesaid customers to place orders with Maban or the multimedia company.The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquires revealed that Maban and the multimedia company were not subcontractors of Showtex HK and had no dealings with Showtex HK or its factory. It was revealed that at the material time, the three customers had placed orders worth totalling about $1 million with Maban and the multimedia company.Inquiries revealed that although the three aforesaid customers placed orders with Maban and the multimedia company, Li arranged Showtex HK to provide some of the items in the orders through fraudulent means. Part of the payment of the orders made by the customers to Maban and the multimedia company were eventually deposited into the bank accounts of Li or his family members.Investigations also revealed that Zhao was the operator of Maban, which engaged in knife trading. Zhao and the operator of the aforesaid multimedia company were former employees of Showtex HK.Li and Zhao dealt with crime proceeds of about $720,000 in relation to the scheme via the bank account of Maban, the court was told.Showtex HK has rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Bernard Chung, assisted by ICAC officers Henry Cheung, Keith Yan and Ruby Ho.
22
Apr 2025
Subcontractor of airport expansion works charged by ICAC with $1m bribery over exploitation of workersFollowing thorough inquiries into corruption complaints alleging corruption and exploitation involving importer workers, the ICAC today (April 22) brought charges to a subcontractor of the Terminal 2 expansion works of the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for allegedly collecting bribes totalling over $1 million from 21 imported workers in relation to their employment.Chan Sin-tai, 62, director cum shareholder of Full Spirit Marble Factory Limited (Full Spirit); faces one count of conspiracy for an agent to accept advantages, contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance. The defendant was released on ICAC bail, pending his appearance at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (April 23) for mention.At the material time, Gammon Construction Limited (Gammon) was the main contractor for the Terminal 2 expansion works of the HKIA. Due to labour shortage in the construction industry, Gammon applied for importation quota through the Development Bureau’s Labour Importation Scheme for Construction Sector for its subcontractors. The daily wage of the imported workers was $1,350. Based on 22 working days per month, Gammon would release a monthly salary of $29,700 to the workers.Full Spirit was one of the subcontractors of Gammon, which was also involved in the recruitment of workers in the Mainland. Gammon prohibited its employees or agents, including Full Spirit, from soliciting or accepting any advantages from others in relation to its business and affairs.It is alleged that between January and October 2024, Chan conspired together with an imported team leader to accept bribes from 21 imported workers for assisting the latter to secure and continue their employments with Gammon.ICAC enquiries revealed that Chan had allegedly informed the imported workers through the team leader that their actual daily wages were between $780 and $1,150 and requested them to return the difference between the daily wage according to the contract and the actual daily wage to Full Spirit, totalling over $1 million.Meanwhile, in a separate case, another imported team leader was charged by the ICAC today with conspiracy for an agent to accept advantages. The defendant will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (April 23) for plea.Wang Zhenzhong, 36, was employed by Gammon at the material time responsible for leading eight imported workers to work at the Terminal 2 expansion works project. It is alleged that between April and October 2024, Wang conspired together with a middleman to accept bribes from eight imported workers to assist the latter to continue their employment with Gammon. ICAC investigation revealed that Wang had collected bribes totalling over $35,000 from one of the imported workers.ICAC inquiries revealed that the workers concerned in the two cases endured the exploitation for fear of losing their jobs.An ICAC spokesperson notes that to enhance imported workers’ understanding of Hong Kong’s anti-corruption laws, the ICAC would arrange corruption prevention talks for them within eight weeks of their arrival. The Commission will continue to disseminate anti-corruption messages through different channels.The ICAC does not tolerate corruption and will continue to collaborate with the Development Bureau and other stakeholders to prevent similar crimes. Should construction workers be asked to pay bribes in exchange for their employment, they should reject and report to the ICAC immediately. ICAC’s report corruption hotline: 25 266 366.Gammon rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the cases.
14
Apr 2025
Court orders to confiscate crime proceeds of $2.35m from convicted garment accessories trading company director charged by ICAC with briberyA director of a garment accessories trading company, charged by the ICAC, was earlier sentenced to 22 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to offering bribes to employees of two garment manufacturers in exchange for various purchase orders between 2014 and 2019. The District Court today (April 14) ordered to confiscate from the defendant crime proceeds of $2.35 million, being the profits he made in the case.Ho Kwok-wing, 49, sole director-cum-shareholder of Po Yuen Hong Company Limited (Po Yuen Hong), was sentenced to 22 months’ imprisonment at the District Court in October 2022 after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage and two counts of conspiracy to offer an advantage to an agent, contrary to sections 9(1)(a) and 9(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.Deputy Judge Ms Winnie Lau Yee-wan today allowed the prosecution’s application in relation to two of the charges and ordered to confiscate from the defendant crime proceeds of $2.35 million, being the profits he made in the present case. The defendant was ordered to satisfy the confiscation order within six months, failing which he will have to serve an additional term of imprisonment of 35 months. He had already made a repayment in relation to the remaining charge to the garment manufacturer concerned.The court heard that Po Yuen Hong was a garment accessories trading company. At the material time, the defendant made an agreement with a senior purchaser of a nightclothes and swimwear manufacturer that he would offer bribes to the latter in exchange for an increase in the purchase orders placed with Po Yuen Hong. Meanwhile, purchase orders placed by the manufacturer increased significantly and Po Yuen Hong became its major supplier.The defendant had also obtained purchase orders of a manufacturer of denim clothing by a similar corrupt practice. He agreed to offer bribes to a purchasing clerk of the manufacturer in exchange for purchase orders from the company.The prosecution was today represented by Acting Senior Public Prosecutor Matthew Hui, assisted by ICAC officers Gavin Lau and Keith Kwok.

Back To Top