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Hong Kong – A Hong Kong court on Friday, October 12, postponed the corruption case of two of the city’s richest tycoons and a former senior official until 2013 to give the prosecution more time to gather evidence.
Brothers Thomas and Raymond Kwok — co-chairmen of Sun Hung Kai Properties — were charged in July for allegedly bribing former government chief secretary Rafael Hui, the most senior official ever arrested by the city’s anti-graft watchdog.
The magistrates’ court adjourned proceedings to January 25 next year after allowing a postponement request from the prosecution.
Public prosecutor Kevin Zervos told the court his team needed additional time to seek “overseas” evidence and prepare for the case, Hong Kong’s biggest graft scandal that has also sent shockwaves across the regional banking hub.
The three men were charged alongside two others — Sun Hung Kai director Thomas Chan and businessman Francis Kwan — with eight offences related to payments and unsecured loans amounting to HK$34 million ($4.4 million).
The Kwok brothers, who have vowed to fight the charges, did not speak to the horde of reporters outside the courtroom. They have been granted bail pending trial and no pleas have been taken yet.
The case has gripped Hong Kong as the Kwoks, among Asia’s wealthiest men, own some of the city’s most iconic real estate, and Sun Hung Kai is a blue-chip listed company and the city’s biggest property developer based on market capitalisation.
Thomas Kwok, 60, faces two charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, and his 59-year-old brother Raymond has been charged with three offences including furnishing false information.
Hui, 64, faces eight charges related to misconduct involving rent-free use of luxury apartments and unsecured loans.
Analysts said the case reinforced public suspicion that officials were in the pockets of Beijing-backed business elites, who control everything from ports to telecommunications and even supermarkets in Hong Kong. – Agence France-Presse
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