Hotel staff probed over $10m bribes

The ICAC yesterday confirmed it is investigating staff from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Excelsior Hotel over bribes worth $10 million.

Engineering staff and contractors were arrested last month following allegations that maintenance contracts were being awarded in return for bribes.

All have been released on bail while the investigation continues.

The staff from the Central and Causeway Bay hotels, both owned by Mandarin Oriental International, have been suspended, pending the outcome of the probe.

An Independent Commission Against Corruption spokesman said: 'We arrested five persons in mid-July. Two were engineering staff of the hotels and the other three maintenance contractors.

'The allegations go back to the early 1990s and the value of the maintenance contracts involved is more than $100 million.