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Decision very soon on charges against Hong Kong former chief executive Donald Tsang

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Decision 'very soon' on charges against Hong Kong former chief executive Donald Tsang


Graft-buster's 3-year probe into allegations over favours from tycoons is over, prosecutor says

PUBLISHED : Monday, 26 January, 2015, 11:21pm
UPDATED : Monday, 26 January, 2015, 11:47pm

Peter So [email protected]

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Decision 'very soon' on charges against Hong Kong former chief executive Donald Tsang

The investigation into allegations former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen accepted hospitality from tycoons has ended, but the city's scandal-ridden former leader will have to wait before he learns whether he will face prosecution.

Speaking to a Legislative Council panel on Monday, chief prosecutor Keith Yeung Ka-hung confirmed the Independent Commission Against Corruption had completed the investigation into the allegations involving Tsang, after it received complaints nearly three years ago.

In response to a question by legal-sector lawmaker Dennis Kwok on whether the prosecution was considering a charge, Yeung replied: "Yes".

Yeung declined to provide more details on the case.

"We have been in touch with the ICAC closely and we are reviewing the related laws and information," said Yeung. "We cannot comment on the progress," Yeung added. But he quoted former chief prosecutor Kevin Zervos, who left his post in 2013, as having said matters would move forward "very soon".

Tsang was embroiled in several scandals before his term ended in 2012.

Although denying any conflict of interest, Tsang has admitted enjoying two holiday trips on private jets and two on yachts while in office. He also failed to declare plans to lease a Shenzhen penthouse from mainland tycoon Bill Wong Cho-bau at a bargain rent.

The graft-buster began investigating after it received complaints in February 2012, but former chief prosecutor Grenville Cross SC has questioned the length of time the investigation has taken.

"Justice delayed is justice denied, says a legal maxim … suspects, therefore, must know their fate within a reasonable time, and not be left in suspense," Cross wrote in the South China Morning Post two years ago.

Drawing a comparison to the corruption case against disgraced former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan, Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said that cases involving corruption-related charges usually required lengthy investigation.

"The decision [on charges] is not as simple as many people think … we would rather take a longer time and consider it [the evidence] carefully," Yuen said after the panel meeting yesterday.

"If we make a rash decision, it would not be an ideal approach … [and] would also be unfair to the defendants," Yuen added.

Tsang has largely shied away from the limelight after he stepped down from the top job. He has attended occasional ceremonies but has not made remarks in public.

However, he wrote a plea letter for Hui, who was imprisoned for 71/2 years last month for pocketing almost HK$20 million in bribes during his public service.

A spokeswoman for the ICAC last night declined to comment further on the case.



 
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