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Case Studies
Bribery spoils fair play
A listed company exclusively authorised an estate agency to sell a factory building unit by tender. Estate agency manager Mr Chan and his subordinate Jenny were responsible for tender matters. Jenny soon found a client, Mr Lai, who was willing to pay $19.6 million for the unit.
Meanwhile, Sidney, the proprietor of a small estate agency, was facing intense competition and trying every means to gain business. Knowing that Mr Chan was responsible for the factory unit transaction, Sidney spared no effort in looking for a buyer. He also offered a $100,000 “lai see” to Mr Chan and Jenny to ensure that his client could successfully buy the property. In light of the advantage offered by Sidney and upon Mr Chan’s instructions, Jenny deliberately misled other prospective tenderers, including Mr Lai, into lowering their tender price or withdrawing. ICAC officers later arrested Sidney and Mr Chan in a restaurant where they were discussing how to hand over the bribe. Initially, Sidney denied making a corrupt deal with Mr Chan, but Mr Chan chose to co-operate with the ICAC and revealed everything.
Case Analysis
To protect the interests of investors, the listed company prohibited their agents or employees from abusing their official positions for personal gain. Mr Chan and Jenny were commissioned by the listed company to sell the property. They had to comply with the listed company’s policy on acceptance of advantages and were not allowed to solicit or accept any work-related advantage. Under the Section 9 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO), it is an offence for any agent, without the approval of his principal, to solicit or accept an advantage as a reward for or an inducement to perform an act in relation to his principal’s affairs or business. The offeror of the bribe shall also be guilty of the offence. Mr Chan and Jenny might commit an offence under Section 9 of POBO for accepting bribe. This went against the spirit of the tender system and also prejudiced the buyer’s interests.
By attempting to secure business through corrupt means, Sidney’s action went against the spirit of fair competition and damaged the reputation of estate agency trade. He might also commit an offence under Section 9 of POBO for offering bribe.
Furthermore, they all might have breached the Code of Ethics of the Estate Agents Authority which states that estate agents and salespersons shall refrain from activities during their practice which may infringe the law.