Details of alleged bid to rig PCCW vote surface in court

Details of an alleged attempt to rig PCCW's privatisation vote emerged in court yesterday as a lawyer for one of Richard Li Tzar-kai's businesses addressed allegations in a Securities and Futures Commission report, said to be more than 1,000 pages long.

Seeking to blunt the SFC's case, Benjamin Yu, the lawyer for Pacific Century Regional Developments, which is managed by Mr Li, offered different interpretations of the facts uncovered by the commission's investigation. He also ridiculed the tone of the SFC's allegations.

'The SFC's submission is biased, inaccurate and incomplete,' said Mr Yu. 'We make no apology for using these adjectives.'

The SFC wrote that PCCW shares were transferred to Fortis Insurance staff members who were subsequently pressured into supporting the telecommunications provider's privatisation bid, Mr Yu said.

But he said the SFC had no evidence of any wrongdoing. He added that the regulator had come to its conclusion through a prejudicial line of questioning, which insinuated that it was abnormal for Lam Hau-wah, a regional head of Fortis, to distribute stock as a bonus.

Mr Yu noted that Alvin Wong, a Fortis employee, was even quoted in the SFC report as saying that it was not at all unusual for Mr Lam to give out stock.