Ex-Mandarin group engineers face $12m graft charges

Three former engineers of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and a contractor were charged yesterday over their role in an alleged scam involving more than $12 million in illegal kickbacks.

Chan Chun-man, 39, former engineering manager of the group; Wong Kok-mun, 58, former chief engineer; Jue Ving-kung, 57, former assistant chief engineer of The Excelsior hotel, the group's affiliated company; and Wong Yiu-kuen, 43, proprietor of Wong Choy Decoration and Painting, will appear in Eastern Court today.

The four, arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), are on bail and will face 22 corruption and conspiracy charges.

The ICAC said 17 of the charges allege Chan, Wong and Jue, while being employed by the Mandarin Group, conspired to accept more than $870,000 from a contractor between 1995 and 1997 for awarding decoration and maintenance contracts by the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong and Excelsior Hotel (Hong Kong).

Two of the charges accuse Chan of offering advantages to a subordinate to award contracts to various sectors, including Wong Choy Decoration and Painting.

The remaining three charges allege Jue, Chan and Wong conspired to defraud The Excelsior and Mandarin Oriental.