Company owned by husband of former Hong Kong justice chief Teresa Cheng faces record HK$150 million fine for competition law breach

A leading engineering service provider set up by the husband of Hong Kong’s former justice secretary Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah is facing a fine of HK$150 million (US$19.1 million) for breaching the city’s competition law in the heaviest penalty of its kind.

In a statement on Friday, the Competition Commission said ATAL Building Services Engineering of Analogue Holdings, set up by Otto Poon Lok-to, Cheng’s husband, had admitted liability in air-conditioning cartel cases and accepted cooperation terms, including payment of the huge penalty, as well as covering the commission’s costs of investigation and legal proceedings.

The case involves ATAL Building Services Engineering and Shun Hing Engineering Contracting Company under Shun Hing Holdings.

In June, the two firms were accused of price-fixing, market-sharing and bid-rigging, which could have affected air-conditioning projects worth some HK$2 billion, over a period of four years from December 14, 2015, to December 4, 2019.

Affected clients included Towngas, JLL, and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, according to the writ filed by the Competition Commission.

Commission CEO Rasul Butt on Friday said the latest cooperation agreements entered into with ATAL represented “significant developments” in the investigation.

“The cooperation agreements … will enable the commission to resolve enforcement cases effectively and efficiently, saving significant time and public resources which would otherwise be spent in a contested hearing,” he said, adding that legal proceedings against the remaining respondents were ongoing.