Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog on Wednesday charged five persons for allegedly offering bribes to secure contracts in three housing estate renovation projects worth about HK$90 million ($11.5 million).
The Independent Commission Against Corruption said in a statement that it charged four men and a woman, aged between 42 and 70, in three cases for allegedly offering money, services, and casino chips to win renovation contracts for housing estates in Chai Wan, Kennedy Town, and Kwai Chung.
The defendants face a total of eight charges – seven for offering an advantage to an agent, contrary to the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO), and one for conspiracy to offer an advantage to an agent, contrary to the POBO and the Crimes Ordinance.
The cases were set for mention at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts in Sai Wan Ho on Thursday.
ICAC filed the charges after it launched a joint operation codenamed “Shotgun” with the Competition Commission and cracked down on a crime syndicate suspected of manipulating the bidding of building maintenance projects in the city through bribery and bid-rigging.
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In the first case, two of the defendants allegedly conspired to offer an unspecified sum of money between September 2022 and February 2023 to a member of the incorporated owners of Yan Tsui Court in Chai Wan to assist contractors associated with one of the defendants in securing the housing estate’s renovation contract.
In the second case, two of the defendants allegedly offered a red packet of an unspecified amount and "two bribes of tens of thousands of dollars and HK$500,000" to a representative of flat owners of Hoi Tao Building in Kennedy Town.
The two defendants allegedly wanted help in persuading other flat owners to stop opposing the awarding of the estate's renovation contract to a company, which had also been challenged before the Lands Tribunal.
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The ICAC also alleged that one of the defendants offered on four occasions between July 2020 and April 2024 an unspecified amount of casino chips and renovation services worth HK$50,000 to a then member of the incorporated owners of Victory Garden housing estate in Kwai Chung.
The defendant allegedly wanted assistance for project consultants and contractors recommended by the defendant to secure contracts for the housing estate’s renovation.
The ICAC said its investigation was continuing and it did not rule out further prosecutions.
