Hong Kong tycoon, former official guilty of corruption

HONG KONG – Hong Kong property tycoon Thomas Kwok and the government’s former deputy leader Rafael Hui were found guilty of corruption on Friday, December 19, but Kwok’s billionaire brother Raymond was cleared.

The pair were found guilty of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, after a blockbuster trial over payments that the prosecution said amounted to HK$34 million ($4.38 million). 

Hui, who was the city’s chief secretary from June 2005 to June 2007, was found guilty on five of eight charges against him. Thomas Kwok was convicted of one and cleared on another two counts.

They were both convicted over a payment of HK$8.5 million made to Hui in the four days leading up to his appointment to the senior government post in 2005.

Prosecutors said the payments had been made through a series of complicated transactions involving middlemen, and that they were clearly bribes.

The pair, who had been on bail, have been remanded in custody until Monday when the court will reconvene. – Rappler.com