Former Hong Kong No 2 Rafael Hui’s acceptance of HK$8.5m did not amount to misconduct, court hears
Lawyer says the payment by tycoon Thomas Kwok was to buy the official’s ‘good feeling’ and that without an agreement of anything in return, the pair should not have been convicted
A former top Hong Kong government official jailed for corruption began his final appeal on Tuesday, with his lawyers arguing that he should not have been found guilty even if he took money from a property giant in exchange for his “good feeling”.
Defence lawyers told the Court of Final Appeal that former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan would otherwise be innocent as there was no evidence of any specific agreement or act to favour his paymasters, who included billionaire Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong, former joint chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP).
That raised the eyebrows of Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li, who expressed concern about public reaction to such an assessment.
“It’s an odd thing to say, isn’t it? You have been paid HK$8.5 million,” Ma said, referring to payments Hui pocketed in the days and hours before he was sworn in as Hong Kong’s No 2 official. “You are indebted to someone.”
Hui was jailed in 2014 for 71/2 years for accepting HK$19.7 million in bribes and misconduct in public office.
