Ex-Hong Kong chief secretary Rafael Hui, jailed for graft, dies at 77
Former chief secretary, who was jailed in 2014 for accepting nearly HK$20 million, died at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital
Rafael Hui Si-yan, a former Hong Kong chief secretary who was jailed for pocketing nearly HK$20 million from a prominent land developer, has died at the age of 77.
“Mr Rafael Hui passed away at [Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital] peacefully on Sunday after a brave fight with an acute illness,” a source told the South China Morning Post.
Former Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen told SCMP on Monday that he was deeply saddened to learn about Hui’s death. They had worked together for years, including the time when Hui was the No 2 official in Tsang’s administration.
“In him, I have lost a loyal friend of fifty years, a gifted colleague with exceptional analytical insight, and a natural leader in public service. Few could match his profound understanding of Hong Kong’s community … from grassroots and middle-class citizens to the affluent. He will forever remain in my thoughts and prayers,” Tsang said.
Hui served as the city’s No 2 official from 2005 to 2007. He was jailed for 7½ years after being convicted in 2014 of plotting to commit misconduct in public office and other charges.
A court found him guilty of accepting HK$19.6 million offered by Sun Hung Kai Properties’ then co-chairman Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and two middlemen – then executive director Thomas Chan Kui-yuen and Francis Kwan Hung-sang, who was a stock exchange official.