A District Court judge yesterday criticised RTHK's senior executives for 'turning a blind eye' to abuses of tenders for production contracts, following the conviction of a former staff member and his accomplices for fraud worth $740,000.
In continuing his verdict from Thursday, Deputy District Court Judge Kevin Browne also took the broadcaster to task for poor record-keeping in managing its tenders. He cited evidence from the trial that some tender documents were unsigned and undated.
Cheung Kin-man, 27, a former programme co-ordinator at RTHK, and his friends, Ho Yuen-yi, 34, and Yu Siu-kei, 35, were convicted of conspiring to defraud RTHK between December 15 and 31, 2002, by submitting false bids for production contracts.
An RTHK spokesman yesterday refused to comment on the case, but he said RTHK staff had been briefed over the past few years on anti-graft laws and proper conduct.
A Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau spokesman said the bureau would work with RTHK to improve its management.
Ho and Yu, both former freelancers and contract staff for RTHK, were co-owners of a multimedia production company, C'est la Pomme De Terre. Yu was also the sole proprietor of another production company, Feng Shui.
One of Cheung's key responsibilities was seeking bids for RTHK production contracts.
