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Stuart Lau

Rafael Hui Si-yan described himself in the High Court yesterday as a man who would "spend everything" in his pocket and pay only the minimum charges on his credit card bills.
The one-time government No 2 took the witness stand at his bribery trial, where he faced the prosecution's allegations that his lifestyle left him vulnerable to exploitation by people willing to buy his services.
He was not a person who "likes gambling" or made investments, although he conceded making a habit of betting on the horses from the 1990s.
Still, he spent more than he earned - on travel, wining and dining, pricey music recordings, opera tickets and stabling horses at the Jockey Club.
Taxes were paid using bank loans, he told the court.
"Basically, I did not have any savings. I spent almost everything I had, and sometimes more than that," Hui said on the first day of his testimony.
It was also the 76th day of a marathon trial that has yet to see Sun Hung Kai Properties co-chairmen Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Raymond Kwok Ping-luen defend themselves against charges of having given Hui millions of dollars to be their "eyes and ears" in government.

Hui quit all public-sector roles in 2009 and is now bankrupt.
He admitted that "actually, for a long period of time I had been making only the minimum payments" on credit cards. "Very often, I paid by cash. And usually I paid only on or close to the due date," he told the High Court jury.
Barrister Edwin Choy Wai-bond backed up his client's words by showing the jury a credit card statement of Hui's from 2009. While Hui had an accumulated debt of HK$130,000, he had repaid only HK$4,040 the previous month; the minimum charge was HK$3,900.
"I believe I started to have this pattern from the 1980s," Hui said of his limited bill payments.
Some of the spending was unquantifiable - because he also bought DVDs, up to twice a week, from a shop that accepted only cash. "The company would deliver some DVDs to my home and my office. After I had taken my pick, I paid in cash … The amount was considerable."
The collection was stored in a library converted from three bedrooms at his flat in the Leighton Hill, Causeway Bay. "If you're asking me if I had listened to all of [the CDs] - 100 per cent of them - of course not," Hui said.
The money he spent on horseracing paled in comparison, the court heard. "If I lost all the money I bet, it would be HK$10,000 to HK$20,000 [each time]. But it would be very rare for me to lose all the money I bet."
Hui, 66, faces eight charges related to bribery and misconduct in public office.
Thomas Kwok, 62, faces one charge of conspiracy to offer an advantage to Hui and two counts of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office. Raymond Kwok, 61, faces four charges, including one with Hui of furnishing false information. SHKP executive director Thomas Chan Kui-yuen, 67, and former Hong Kong stock exchange official Francis Kwan Hung-sang, 63, each face two charges. All have pleaded not guilty. The trial continues before Mr Justice Andrew Macrae.
Additional reporting by Toh Han Shih and Enoch Yiu
 


I’m a 'spend everything, pay later' guy, Rafael Hui tells graft trial

Rafael Hui Si-yan arrives at the Hight Court on Friday. Photo: Edward Wong

News

Hong Kong

Rafael Hui Si-yan described himself in the High Court yesterday as a man who would "spend everything" in his pocket and pay only the minimum charges on his credit card bills.
