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Bribery for giving assistance in public contracts
A senior engineer of a public body was assigned to supervise the construction work of the organisation's new headquarters. In the process of calling tenders for curtain walling works, a contractor and a close associate of the senior engineer indicated immense interest in the project.
Just before an official invitation for tendering was issued, the contractor offered to secure a highly sought-after golf club membership for the senior engineer to exchange for his assistance in winning the tender. He requested the senior engineer to manipulate tender requirements to suit his company so that he could obtain the contract for the job. In fact, the contractor charged a much higher rate than the other construction companies and the technical processes for constructing the curtain walling were not cost-efficient.
Case Analysis
The senior engineer might violate the Rules of Conduct of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers if he abused his official authority to manipulate tender requirements in exchange for an advantage in the form of a golf club membership. He failed to fulfil his obligation to protect the interests of his employer and clients as the contractor might not provide the best service to his organisation, not to mention the excessive construction fee charged.
If the senior engineer had not obtained prior permission from his employer to accept the advantage, he might contravene Section 5 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO), which prohibits a public servant from accepting illegal advantages for giving assistance in securing contracts from the public body. And the contractor, the offeror of advantages for the same purpose, could also be liable to prosecution under Section 5 of POBO.