Integrity Focus

A former 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 (November 10) sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts for soliciting and accepting bribes totalling about $14,000 from two construction workers in relation to their employment with the sub-contractor.

Ting Shi-tong, 62, former site team leader of MLife Engineering Limited (MEL), was earlier found guilty of seven charges after trial – six of agent accepting an advantage and one of agent soliciting an advantage, all contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.

In sentencing, Deputy Magistrate Miss Polly Chuang Po-yi reprimanded the defendant for showing no remorse at all and considered that there was a high risk of reoffending. The Deputy Magistrate noted that the Third Runway Project was a major project of Hong Kong. The defendant exploited the new blood in the construction industry and deprived them of their hard-earned money by taking advantage of the younger generation’s eagerness to find jobs. His acts had undermined the society’s probity culture and public confidence in equal employment opportunity, warranting a deterrent sentence.

The deputy magistrate had also earlier ordered the defendant to pay the bribes involved in the case as restitutions to MEL.

At the material time, MEL was a sub-contractor of the Third Runway Project responsible for recruiting construction workers to conduct various works. The defendant was a site team leader of a team of workers at the project’s construction site. In February 2022, two workers were respectively employed at a daily wage of $1,200 and $1,450 to join the defendant’s team to work at the construction site.

The court heard that on various occasions between March and June 2022, the defendant had solicited a daily bribe of $150 from the two workers. The duo believed that they would not be employed or their employment would be terminated by the defendant if they did not accede to the request. The defendant eventually accepted from each of them a bribe of about $5,800 and $8,200, totalling about $14,000.

The ICAC had so far charged 26 people, most of whom were site team leaders of a sub-contractor of the Third Runway Project, over bribery related to workers’ employment. Twenty defendants, including the one in the present case, had pleaded guilty or were found guilty after trial, receiving sentences up to 16 months in jail. Four others are awaiting plea or trial.

The Airport Authority Hong Kong, the relevant main contractor SAPR JV and MEL had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.

The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Timmy Yip, assisted by ICAC officers Terry Ho and Cyrus Chan.

In recent years, the ICAC has taken a series of enforcement actions against solicitation and acceptance of illegal rebates from construction workers and launched a series of relevant publicity and education programmes. An ICAC spokesperson urges construction workers not to tolerate corruption. Should they be asked to pay bribes in exchange for their employment, they should report to the ICAC immediately. ICAC’s report corruption hotline: 25 266 366.