Former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang in good mood day before bribery trial set to begin
The 72-year-old former chief executive is accused of giving favour to Digital Broadcasting Corp
Donald Tsang Yam-kuen appeared in good spirits on Monday as he entered court for his final pre-trial session before his trial on a bribery charge begins on Tuesday.
Wearing his signature bow-tie and frequently smiling, Hong Kong’s former leader strode into the High Court, in Admiralty, with his legal team as well as his wife, Selina Tsang Pou Siu-mei, and his brother Charles Tsang Yam-chuen.
This one fix would quash corruption among senior civil servants
Tsang, 72, the city’s former chief executive from 2005 to 2012, is facing one count of accepting an advantage in his position from January 2010 and June 2012. As per Hong Kong law, details of the pre-trial session were subject to reporting restrictions.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail and up to a HK$500,000 fine.
It is alleged that as the former leader, as well as the head of the city’s top advisory body Executive Council, Tsang accepted the refurbishment and redecoration of a three-storey penthouse at the East Pacific Garden in the Futian district of Shenzhen, the mainland city bordering Hong Kong.
Prosecutors have said the service was a reward for Tsang to become “favourably disposed” to Wave Media, which was renamed as Digital Broadcasting Corporation, by approving various applications, including a radio licence.
