What now for Hong Kong former chief executive Donald Tsang after his misconduct conviction is quashed by Court of Appeal?
- The city’s former leader has hefty legal bill and speaks of family torment, but keeps his pension and honours following judges’ ruling
- Chief Executive Carrie Lam among those expressing support for Tsang, but senior legal figure says conviction was only quashed because of jury misdirection
Despite having his conviction quashed, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen can hardly be described as emerging unscathed from his lengthy legal battle, with five years of litigation emptying his pockets and making him the city’s first chief executive to be jailed.
Lawyers estimate the cost to hire his legal team – including Queen Counsel Clare Montgomery and local silks Peter Duncan, Selwyn Yu and Derek Chan Ching-lung – over two trials and two appeals could amount to HK$50 million (US$6.4 million).
The city’s former leader may be entitled to make the Department of Justice foot part of his bill for the appeals after Wednesday’s triumph, although he had not yet made such an application, the Post has learned.
But the remaining cost to him is still expected to be substantial, as he was also ordered by a lower court earlier to pay prosecutors HK$1 million for the investigation and their equally star-studded team, consisting of British barristers David Perry QC and local counsel Maggie Wong Pui-kei SC and Eric Kwok Tung-ming SC.
He has also spent almost eight months in a maximum-security prison, which is short of the year he was sentenced to because holidays and good behaviour were taken into account.