A former senior vice-president of HSBC Broking Services (Asia) was yesterday sentenced to a year in jail for accepting HK$1.1 million in bribes for recommending a businessman to buy shares in a listed company five years ago. Man Yui-fai, 55, who was also convicted by the District Court of one count of making false or misleading statements following an investigation by the Securities and Futures Commission, was ordered to pay a HK$20,000 fine. The court heard that Man accepted money from Joseph Ng King-ho, a financial adviser with Mitsumaru East Kit (Holdings), who asked him to recommend that his clients buy Mitsumaru shares in 2005. Man recommended to Allan Ng Poh-meng that he buy Mitsumaru shares, claiming they were undervalued and that Mitsumaru was planning a share placement. Man had denied two counts of accepting an advantage as an agent, saying it was a personal loan. He was convicted after trial. In mitigation, the defence said Man returned the money he had accepted to HSBC Broking. Letters by Man's family and business partners, submitted to the court yesterday, said he was of good character and was a responsible person, the defence lawyer said. In sentencing, Deputy Judge Anthony Kwok Kai-on rejected Man's claim that the HK$1.1 million was a private loan and ruled that the money was actually a reward from Joseph Ng. Kwok found Man was not remorseful because he pleaded not guilty. He said Man was involved in a breach of trust. Man also had to pay a HK$22,222 investigation fee to the SFC. The court heard that in December 2004, Man told his client that he would buy back the shares if Mitsumaru did not announce a placement two weeks after announcing its final results. As a result, Allan Ng bought 10 million Mitsumaru shares at HK$1.25 each, using his company's HSBC Broking account. The court heard that Joseph Ng used his ex-wife's account in January 2005 to deposit HK$550,000 on two occasions into the account of Man's wife in return for recommending that Allan Ng buy the shares. After Mitsumaru announced its final results in April 2005, it did not carry out a placement and Man did not buy back the shares. The case came to light after Allan Ng later lodged a complaint with HSBC Broking, which referred the case to the SFC. Man originally told an SFC investigator that his wife had borrowed HK$1.1 million from an unknown person. But in another interview, Man changed his statement and said he borrowed the money as a loan from Joseph Ng to buy a new flat. Man also allegedly accepted money to help Joseph Ng apply to open an account with HSBC Broking. No deal Amount Man Yui-fai received for telling a client to buy a company's shares over a non-existent placement, in HK$: $1.1m
