BEA bank clerk ‘does not recall in detail’ withdrawal of HK$350,000, allegedly given to Donald Tsang, court hears
She testifies not remembering events following transaction, despite evidence of her cashing cheque on behalf of BEA chairman
A clerk who withdrew HK$350,000 on behalf of the Bank of East Asia chairman – a sum which was allegedly given in cash to former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and his wife – denied four times in court on Friday that she had any detailed recollections about the transaction.
Although evidence showed bank clerk Chong Suk-han had cashed BEA chairman David Li Kwok-po’s cheque, she testified that she “did not remember” what happened afterwards, despite the prosecution’s allegation that the sum had somehow ended up in the joint account of Tsang and his wife, the High Court heard on Friday.
The prosecution alleged that the cash was then used as part of an 800,000 yuan payment in November 2010 to a company connected to businessman Bill Wong Cho-bau – the man with whom Tsang was negotiating over the three-storey penthouse apartment in Shenzhen. Tsang had intended to retire there after stepping down as chief executive in 2012.
The former chief executive is accused of failing to declare to the Executive Council his relationship with Wong, a major shareholder of radio station Wave Media, between 2010 and 2012, when he was approving the company’s broadcast licence. BEA chairman Li was also a major shareholder of the radio station.
On July 16, 2010, Chong cashed the cheque at 9.20am at BEA’s central branch, the former chief executive’s bribery and misconduct trial heard on Friday. This was just 35 minutes before Selina Tsang Pou Siu-mei, Tsang’s wife, deposited the same amount at the same branch.
Despite a lack of evidence of the cash handover, “common sense” would show there was a clear connection, the prosecution told the jury in its opening statement last week.
Chong, when asked yesterday if she remembered what she did with the money after withdrawing it, said: “I don’t remember.”
She also said she had no recollection of what she was told to do with it, or even handling the cheque at all.
The clerk, who was cross-examined by defence lawyer Clare Montgomery QC, denied ever meeting Tsang’s wife or giving her the cash.
BEA employees, who dealt with the transactions on July 16, 2010, were questioned by the defence on how long it would take to withdraw and deposit HK$350,000 in cash.
Officer Hung Hoi-yin said that after the deposit of the cheque, it would take about 20 minutes to withdraw the cash, while former bank teller Lai Sheung-man said the entire deposit process would take about 10 to 15 minutes.
On Friday, bank documents presented in court also showed Tsang and his wife made 36 conversions from Hong Kong dollars to Chinese yuan between July 16 and September 3, 2010, amassing over 1 million yuan during that period.
Tsang, 72, has denied one count of accepting an advantage as chief executive and two counts of misconduct in public office.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai.
