Integrity Focus

Three 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, today (February 4) admitted that they had accepted bribes totalling about $880,000 from over 80 fellow workers for securing their employment. One of the trio who instructed workers to tell the ICAC that they had not paid bribes also pleaded guilty to perversion.

An ICAC spokesperson notes that the Commission has zero tolerance for corruption. If construction workers are 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.

The defendants were Tang Kwok-leung, 50; He Yuchuan, 57; and Ye Zhifu, 57; all then site team leaders of MLife Engineering Limited (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 trio led fellow workers 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.

At the District Court, Tang today pleaded guilty to three charges – two of conspiracy for agents to accept advantages, contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance; and one of conspiracy to do an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice, contrary to the Common Law and section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance. Tang was remanded in custody of the Correctional Services Department while his case was adjourned to March 18 for sentence.

The court heard that between June 2020 and March 2021, Tang had instructed two other site team leaders and other construction workers to accept bribes of $40 to $400 per working day, totalling about $700,000, from around 80 carpenters, general workers, riggers and electrical workers. The ICAC investigation revealed that the workers worried about losing their jobs and paid bribes to Tang reluctantly.

In the course of the ICAC investigation, Tang also conspired with one of the site team leaders to instruct some workers to make false statements to ICAC officers by saying that they had not paid any bribes to Tang or other individuals.

He, who was charged in a separate case, today pleaded guilty at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts to six counts of agent accepting an advantage. Between September 2020 and January 2022, He had demanded bribes ranging from $100 to $200 per working day from four carpenters under his supervision.

The four workers paid bribes to He reluctantly as they believed that they would have been terminated if they did not accede to He’s solicitation. As a result, He accepted bribes totalling about $160,000 from the four workers. The case was adjourned to February 26 for sentence and He was allowed bail.

Chow Kwai-fai, 50, another then MEL site team leader charged in the case, today pleaded not guilty to a bribery charge and a blackmail charge. His case was set for trial on March 26.

In the third case, Ye pleaded guilty at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts to four counts of agent accepting an advantage, and was granted bail until February 18 for sentence. Ye admitted that he had accepted bribes, namely over $20,000 and six cartons of cigarettes, from three carpenters between February and June 2022.

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

The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Mickey Fung and ICAC officers Woody Cheng, Lawrence Wong and Fung Lee respectively in the three cases.