Interviews by ICAC investigators into an alleged newspaper circulation scam were more like a 'tea party' than oppressive interrogation, a prosecutor said yesterday.
Michael Lunn SC told the District Court the videotaped statements made by three Hong Kong Standard executives were not obtained under any threat.
He argued the statements, in which the trio allegedly admitted their guilt, should be allowed to be used as evidence.
'The interviews are more in the nature of a tea party than to cross the line to oppression or unfairness,' Mr Lunn said.
General manager Henrietta So Shuk-wa, 35, finance manager Tang Cheong-shing, 49, and former circulation director David Wong Wai-shing, 45, are accused of plotting with press tycoon Sally Aw Sian to defraud advertisers. They deny the charge. Ms Aw, chairwoman of Sing Tao Holdings, has not been charged.
The trio were arrested at their homes on June 4 last year and taken to the Independent Commission Against Corruption headquarters for interviews.
Legal representatives for the three defendants yesterday urged Judge Peter Line to exclude the statements, saying they were not made voluntarily.