Albert Yeung associates quizzed over visa bribe claims

Two men allegedly tried to win tycoon US entry for $300,000

Two men have been arrested for allegedly trying to acquire a US visa for tycoon Albert Yeung Sau-shing with bribes, sources say.

The allegation was revealed as officers from the Independent Commission Against Corruption yesterday also arrested Ng Yu, chief executive officer of the Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG), over a bribes-for-music awards investigation.

The sources said the two men involved in the alleged visa case were not employees of Mr Yeung but close associates. It was alleged that they attempted to acquire a US visa for Mr Yeung with a payment of at least $300,000.

The tycoon, who is the chairman of the Emperor Group, which controls EEG and two other listed companies, was sent to prison for nine months in 1981 after being convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice in the case of an assault by high-profile jockey Tony Cruz.

This may have stood in the way of his attempts to enter the US.

The two men - whose names were not released - were arrested on Thursday as the ICAC entered the second day of an investigation into the bribes-for-awards case that has rocked the local entertainment industry.

They have been released on bail pending further investigations. The sources said no employees of the Hong Kong office of the US consulate-general were involved in the bribery allegation.

So far, the ICAC has arrested 25 people linked to the bribes-for-awards case following an investigation into a complaint received several months ago.

Those arrested include Mr Yeung; Lisa Kan Chin-chin, a senior employee of an EEG subsidiary; singer Juno Mak Chun-lung and his father, Clement Mak Siu-tong, chairman of CCT Telecom; Alex Chan Siu-po, the president of Universal Music HK; and Lee Chun, a director of PCCWs Music Nation. All have been released on bail.

A further 29 people have been interviewed in connection with the investigation.

These are understood to include singers Nicholas Tse Ting-fung, Eason Chan Yik-shun, Yumiko, Taiwanese entertainer Dave Wang Chieh and singer Joey Yung Cho-yee.

Meanwhile, Mr Yeung yesterday through his legal representative abandoned a court application to argue that he had been unlawfully detained after he was released on bail on Thursday night.