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Case Studies
Christmas deal
Rachel, a customer service officer at an airline company, was well aware that Christmas was a peak travel period and that she was likely to be assigned night shifts during the season. Rachel then privately treated her supervisor, Rosanne, who was responsible for arranging the staff duty roster, to dinner to pre-celebrate Christmas at a decent restaurant.
During dinner, Rachel gifted Rosanne with two concert tickets of an idol she knew Rosanne was interested in as a Christmas present, claiming these tickets were a gift from a friend. She then asked Rosanne if she could avoid scheduling her for night shifts during Christmas when arranging the duty roster. Rosanne felt hesitant about this, but Rachel repeatedly assured her that no one would know about their arrangement as long as they kept it as a secret. Rachel also emphasised that concert tickets were not cash and that accepting them would not violate any laws.
Case Analysis
Concert tickets are advantages under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO). If Rosanne, without obtaining the permission of her airline company, accepted the concert tickets from Rachel for providing preferential treatment in arranging the duty roster, both Rosanne and Rachel might breach Section 9 of the POBO.
According to Section 19 of the POBO, trade custom or practice does not serve as a defence for the offeror and the acceptor of an advantage. Although the tickets were gifts given to the supervisor during Christmas, this would not be a defence in court. The court would only consider whether Rosanne obtained the approval from her principal when accepting the concert tickets.
As a managerial staff, Rosanne should not accept advantages or entertainment that are excessive or frequent from subordinates to prevent any perception of bias and to ensure she can carry out her supervisory duties impartially.