Alleged go-between Francis Kwan feared being convicted, prosecutor tells Hui trial
Handwritten note found at Francis Kwan's home showed he had sought legal advice, trial told
Rafael Hui Si-yan and the Kwok brothers were arrested 10 days after graft-busters recovered a note from the home of an alleged go-between that showed he had been pondering the severity of the penalty he would receive if convicted, the court heard yesterday.
Francis Kwan Hung-sang, a childhood friend of Hui, wrote in the note "convicted years of penalty?", prosecutor David Perry said.
The manuscript, recovered when he was arrested on March 19, 2012, also showed that he made a reference to "section 14" of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. He was arrested three months after he was first interviewed by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Kwan, a former Hong Kong stock exchange official, faces two joint counts of conspiracy with Hui, the Kwok brothers and Thomas Chan Kui-yuen, over more than HK$19 million worth of bribes allegedly paid to Hui.
The note also showed he had sought legal advice that said: "Do not assist the investigation."
And at the top of the list of five items he scribbled "source of funds, time and possibility of tracing", the court heard.
Perry said this referred to an elaborate arrangement of fund movements from Thomas Kwok that eventually ended up in Hui's account.