Civic Party's Ronny Tong apologises for declaring shares 8 years late

Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah apologised yesterday for declaring his shareholdings in companies eight years late, in defiance of Legislative Council rules.

His statement came after two newspapers exposed the fact that Tong, who has served in Legco since 2004, declared company shareholdings, which he had held for a decade, only on July 13.

Tong is contesting the New Territories East constituency in the Legco election on September 9 with fellow Civic Party member Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu.

The seven non-trading companies he declared last month were Archway Realty, T&T Investment, T&T Holding, T&T (Trustee), Trueworth Limited, Happy Prince Limited and Progress Well Limited. All are owned by his family.

Legco rules of procedure require lawmakers to declare companies in which they have a more than 1 per cent shareholding. It was unclear how much Tong's stakes were worth.

"I admit that I did not declare my shareholdings in time. Reminded by my assistant, I immediately made the declarations. There was absolutely no deliberate concealment," Tong said in a statement.