'Blinded by desire for high life', Hui jailed 7½ years; Kwok sentenced to five years
Property billionaire Thomas Kwok also locked up for five years as the biggest corruption trial in city's history ends on the 133rd day
Disgraced Rafael Hui Si-yan, who was "blinded by the desire to sustain the high life", was yesterday jailed for 7½ years, becoming the highest-ranking former Hong Kong official ever to be locked up.
Property billionaire Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong was sentenced to spend the next five years in a cell, as a key chapter closed in the biggest graft trial in the city's history.
The High Court's landmark ruling sends a clear warning against business-government corruption in today's Hong Kong.
"Like all tragic characters, you had a flaw," Mr Justice Andrew Macrae said as he sentenced the stony-faced Hui, 66. "Whether one uses the pejorative word 'greed' or puts it more kindly that you were blinded by the desire to sustain the high life to which you had been accustomed."
He added: "Had it not been for this case, you [Hui] would probably have gone down in history as one of Hong Kong's finest chief secretaries in recent years.
"It is quite clear to me that you were very adept at using your anticipated position to gain as much advantage for yourself," Macrae told the former government No 2, who pocketed HK$8.5 million from Kwok up to a few hours before he was sworn in as chief secretary in 2005. "High-ranking officials in particular owe a duty ... to the people of Hong Kong," Macrae said. "The breach of that duty and trust is a significant aspect of your culpability."
Hui took a total of almost HK$20 million in bribes to be favourably disposed to Sun Hung Kai Properties. He was found guilty of five out of eight counts, including misconduct in public office and bribery.
"It would have been very easy for useful information [such as] government thinking or policy to be communicated to someone outside the government," the judge said. "I am not so naive as to suppose that just because no specific quid pro quo can be identified, there was not."
Hong Kong had for years lived with a perception of government and business cosying up to each other, Macrae said. "Regrettably this case will have done nothing to dispel that perception." It was vital for the two sides to remain corruption-free - "particularly when the mainland is taking obvious and positive steps to eradicate the cancer of corruption".
The judge also imposed a HK$500,000 fine on Kwok, who was SHKP co-chairman until last week, a punishment he said was "necessary to deter others tempted" to bribe public officials.
Kwok's former subordinate Thomas Chan Kui-yuen - an SHKP executive director until his conviction - was jailed for six years and fined the same amount. Francis Kwan Hung-sang, a former stock exchange official, wept when he was sentenced to five years in jail.
Chan and Kwan were involved in all the payments, including an HK$11.182 million bribe in 2007. Hui was ordered to pay that sum to the government under bribery laws - although this will have little meaning as he has already declared bankruptcy.
The case came to light in 2008 when the graft-buster received an anonymous report, and arrests were made in 2012.
FULL TEXT: Sentences for Rafael Hui and Thomas Kwok
