Three men were jailed yesterday for arranging bribes from people who wanted to be members of the Jockey Club, in a 2009 scam.
Full club member Robert Ng Ka-ki - also known as Robert Woo - was sentenced to two-and-a-half years after being convicted this month of defrauding the Jockey Club. He claimed falsely that he knew various applicants for membership.
Alan Lam Wai-chee, a 60-year-old clerk, was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of aiding and abetting an agent in accepting an advantage. Construction worker Billy Tang Kang-chung, 50, was given a three-and-a-half year jail term after being convicted of three counts of money laundering.
Ng got fellow members to act for the applicants as seconders, proposers and supporters, roles that are necessary in recommending outsiders to the prestigious racing club.
He was caught when - working through Lam - he asked for HK$250,000 from two undercover agents from the Independent Commission Against Corruption, who pretended to be red-wine traders interested in joining the club.
Tang helped a minibus and taxi merchant, Chan Yuet-ming, arrange for his son to obtain the highly sought after membership. Chan paid a total of HK$1.25 million in the process.