The architect at the centre of a conflict-of-interest row involving chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying reiterated last night that he did not know Leung - as he visited the city just days after the close of a Legislative Council inquiry he was 'too busy' to testify at.
The presence of Malaysian architect Dr Ken Yeang in Hong Kong surprised members of the panel investigating Leung's role in the 2001 West Kowloon arts hub design contest. Yeang admitted he had declined to take questions from the panel despite being asked to do so four times. 'I was busy. I told them I did not know Leung before, during and after the competition ... The election [for chief executive] is over now,' Yeang said.
He denied the panel's claim that he had been offered the opportunity to give evidence by teleconferencing.
Yeang was in town to convene an architecture seminar at the Asia Society in Admiralty and planned to leave Hong Kong immediately after the event finished last night.
The 10-year-old competition entry that sparked the recent controversy was led by Yeang's company and named Leung's surveying firm DTZ as a 'property adviser'.
With Leung one of the judges, the alleged conflict of interest resulted in the entry being disqualified. Leung has denied his firm was part of Yeang's team.