Director of Hong Kong science institute ASTRI charged with misconduct for not disclosing shares in vendor companies
- Research head at government-run ASTRI accused of holding shares in companies he approved HK$535,000 worth of purchases from
The research director of a government science institute has been charged with misconduct for failing to disclose his financial interests in two companies before endorsing over half a million dollars worth of purchases.
The ICAC said in a statement on Friday that the case arose from a corruption complaint referred by ASTRI, which provided cooperation during the investigation.
The statement continued that ASTRI would not have approved the purchases had it known that the companies were directly or indirectly owned or under the control of Lau, his wife or his close friend.
Lau, 49, was released on bail and will appear at Sha Tin Magistrates’ court on Tuesday.
According to the ICAC, Lau was the coordinator of three research projects that received more than HK$9.4 million from the Innovation and Technology Fund established by the government and managed by the Innovation and Technology Commission.
The official charge said that between March 1, 2016, and October 30, 2017, Lau “wilfully misconducted himself in the course of or in relation to his public office, without reasonable excuse or justification”.