Chinese billionaire Ng Lap-seng gets four years in US prison for bribing UN officials US$1.7m to support plans for Macau conference centre
Ng Lap-seng was also fined US$1m for bribing former UN General Assembly President John Ashe and former Dominican Republic Ambassador Francis Lorenzo to get backing for his Macau plan
A Macau billionaire has been sentenced to four years in a US prison after he was convicted of bribing United Nations officials over US$1.7 million as part of a construction scheme that prosecutors said aimed to turn Macau into an international hub.
Ng Lap-seng, 69, had no visible reaction to the sentence as it was read out on Friday but before hearing it, he had told the judge he was “full or regret” over his conviction. “I want to apologise to the court for all of the trouble my actions have caused,” he said through an interpreter.
He was convicted in July of bribing two ambassadors in exchange for their support of his scheme to build a UN conference centre in Macau. As well as the prison sentence, Ng has been fined US$1 million.
Prosecutors had previously asked for a six-year prison term and US$2 million in fines, while his defence had sought a non-prison sentence, describing him as a devoted family man and philanthropist.