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Case Studies
Plan falls through
Patrick, a freight manager of an airfreight company, was responsible for handling freight reservations made by forwarding companies. He became closely acquainted with Paul, the proprietor of a forwarding company. Paul often treated Patrick to dinners at luxurious restaurants and they sometimes spent weekends playing golf together. Because of their close relationship, Paul was confident he could always rely on Patrick for sufficient cargo space.
About a month before the Easter holiday, Paul invited Patrick to a golf trip and covered all the expenses to win him over. During the trip, Paul casually mentioned that he had received many forwarding orders to transport goods to Europe and expected Patrick’s “usual support” regarding allocation of cargo space. He also hinted that he would not take Patrick’s assistance for granted and would reciprocate with a 5% rebate on the freight charges.
However, shortly after the golf trip, a labour strike occurred at several airports in Europe, and Patrick’s boss took charge of the company’s contingency plan for cargo allocation. As a result, Patrick was unable to assist Paul.
Case Analysis
Rebates are considered advantages under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO). Patrick might breach Section 9 of the POBO since he accepted advantages from Paul, i.e. free golf trip and the 5% rebate of the freight charges, without obtaining permission from his principal, i.e. the airfreight company, as an inducement for reserving extra cargo space for Paul. Paul might also breach the POBO as the offeror of the bribe.
Even though Patrick could not allocate the cargo space to Paul, the corruption offence was still pursuable under the law. According to Section 11 of the POBO, once an agreement to offer and accept a bribe is reached, both the offeror and acceptor of the bribe shall commit an offence even if the acceptor claims that he did not actually carry out the act as agreed.
Although “entertainment” is not an “advantage” under the POBO, it can be a “sweetener” in a corrupt dealing. Therefore, Patrick should adhere to the company’s code of conduct regarding the acceptance of entertainment from business clients. He should also decline invitations to meals or entertainment that are excessive in nature or frequency while conducting official duties to avoid any conflict of interest.