Embattled broadcaster ATV hit with HK$380,000 fine over unpaid salaries
Broadcaster asks court for time to settle as it still has HK$300,000 in penalties from communications watchdog and licence fee
Cash-strapped Asia Television was dealt another financial blow on Friday after it was slapped with a HK$380,000 fine at Sha Tin Court.
ATV vice-president Lau Lan-cheong pleaded guilty on behalf of the station to 38 summonses that accused the broadcaster of failing to pay its staff salaries totalling HK$336,756.
The salaries were for 15 employees, including show editors and engineers, who did not receive their pay in full during the period between late July and November.
All the salaries were paid before the end of last month.
In mitigation, Lau insisted he would plead to the court instead of hiring a lawyer because it was a more "pragmatic" approach. He told the magistrate that this would save the broadcaster some money.
He said the financial problems of the 57-year-old broadcaster arose when investors suddenly decided not to contribute to salaries. "The investors said they had finished their historical mission," he told Principal Magistrate Andrew Ma Hon-cheung.
He said the station's 600 employees were now the ones who had been doing their best to solve the salary issue, including by auctioning farmland and rolling out budget advertisement plans.