Ex-director gets 2½ years’ jail over fake concrete test results for Hong Kong mega bridge
- Albert Leung, 67, earlier found guilty of defrauding government out of HK$2 million by covering up deceptive practices
A former director of an engineering consultancy has been jailed for 2½ years for deliberately concealing bogus test results for the world’s longest sea crossing, which connects Hong Kong with mainland China and Macau.
District Judge Ada Yim Shun-yee told West Kowloon Court on Friday that Leung’s offence had undermined the public’s confidence in the safety and quality of the mega bridge and damaged the reputation of engineering projects in the Greater China region.
Yim said the defendant, a former operations director of Jacobs China Limited (JCL), chose not to report the irregularities to authorities despite knowing the extensive failure of the firm’s quality management system had persisted for years.
She said Leung could not shift the blame regardless of the misguided legal advice he received in relation to his duty of disclosure.
“Being the director of operations of JCL, and with his experience in the industry, he knew the senior management was acting dishonestly and it was his own decision to conceal the matter from [the civil engineering department],” she added.
Yim set a sentence starting point of three years’ imprisonment before knocking off six months in light of Leung’s positive good character, contribution to the academic field, deteriorating health and psychiatric problems he suffered after his arrest.