Hui led committee that suppressed favoured developer to avoid favouritism claims, court told

Former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan led a committee to make a deliberate decision to suppress the fact that a joint venture involving Sun Hung Kai Properties was the most popular proponent for an arts hub project, a high-level corruption trial heard yesterday.

That was the suggestion made by defence lawyers for SHKP co-chairman Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong.

Hui is alleged to have received tens of millions of dollars from SHKP's co-chairmen to be the developer's "eyes and ears" in the government over the West Kowloon project and a development on Ma Wan Island.

Clare Montgomery QC, for Thomas Kwok, suggested that the steering committee for the West Kowloon Cultural District project, chaired by Hui, kept from the public the result of a 2005 public consultation about their preference for three proposals submitted for the arts hub project.

She said Dynamic Star International - a joint venture between SHKP and Cheung Kong - was favoured by the public by a wide margin over World City Culture Park, under Henderson Land, which was second.

Montgomery was cross-examining Danny Lau Kam-chuen, then principal assistant secretary for home affairs, who prepared confidential documents for the committee.

"I have no idea whether the decision [to suppress the fact] was made in consideration of a particular company," Lau said.