Ex-TVB manager Stephen Chan back in court over graft

A district court judge said an appearance by a talk show host at a countdown event at a mall would mean the host would receive payment if the arrangement had been brokered by an agency.

Chief District Judge Poon Siu-tung made the comment at a submission hearing yesterday after the Court of Appeal sent back a bribery case against Stephen Chan Chi-wan, a former TVB general manager, and his former assistant Edthancy Tseng Pei-kun to the trial judge.

The appeal court said Poon erred in law in acquitting the pair in 2011. It directed the district court judge to decide whether the two had a reasonable excuse to defend themselves against the charges.

In September 2011 Chan went on trial for receiving HK$112,000 from Olympian City in 2010 behind his employer's back for one performance of the live talk show , which was held at the mall and produced and broadcast by TVB.

While he did 159 episodes of the talk show for free for TVB, Chan was paid for the Olympian City episode through a company run by Tseng. Poon said if TVB and Olympian City had an understanding Chan was not paid for the show, why didn't TVB call him to ask him to host the show, instead of letting Olympian City contact Chan.

"The fact is that Olympian City found Chan by itself," Poon said, so the hypothesis TVB and Olympian City had a mutual understanding that Chan was not paid for the show "is unrealistic".

Chan's lawyer, Joseph Tse Wah-yuen SC, said it was understood that contacting Chan through Tseng was purely a business act and attending the show involved monetary reward.