Three people arrested in connection with a derivatives market manipulation racket say were not coached by graft-busters before they testified in court.
The trio was giving evidence yesterday at the trial of former warrants trader Cheung Ching-ho, who claims ICAC officers coached him to give false evidence after he agreed to testify for the prosecution under immunity. Cheung, 39, later changed his mind and was charged with conspiracy to defraud.
He is one of five people arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption in 2008 in connection with the racket, in which warrants trader and scam mastermind Raymond Ng Chun-to was convicted last year.
Cheung's lawyers are trying to get the proceedings stayed on the grounds that he will not get a fair trial.
One of the trio, Lee Wai-tung, told the District Court he was not coached on how to give answers in videotape interviews with the ICAC officers during a 40-hour detention after his arrest on May 28, 2008.
The court heard that Lee was worried about being prosecuted before testifying as he was not provided with a letter of immunity.
He said he received HK$1 million from the warrants scam and was worried it would be taken away from him. 'If I testified, I thought that they will allow me to keep the assets,' he said.