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Former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, disgraced, entered Friday in court and was returned to a hospital stretcher, after an appeal of his conviction for misconduct was dismissed [19659002]. that the evidence was "as fearsome as compelling" that Tsang, 73, had hidden a conflict of interest from the people of Hong Kong when he was general manager of the city between 2005 and 2012.
But Tsang, who had been He managed to reduce his prison sentence from 20 months to 12 months.
The court of appeal also reduced the order of a lower court to pay at least $ 3 million from Hong Kong. (US $ 380,000) in legal fees to cover litigation costs. He will now have to shell out only 1 million HK $
The court took into consideration the chilling effect that the payment of the total amount would have on Tsang since he was "not a rich man of any kind". business but a retired civil servant ", who would depend
Donald Tsang's brief return to public life ends with a failed court appeal
Tsang, who had entered the court building with a slight smile, had solemn air at the time of the announcement of the verdict. He bit his lip and exchanged a last look with his family members before being taken away by the correctional officers.
About two hours later, Tsang, who suffers from respiratory problems, was rushed by ambulance to the Queen Mary Hospital in Pok. Fu Lam, after complaining about not feeling good.
"Today, I am disappointed and my heart hurts," said his wife, Selina Tsang Pou Siu-Mei, outside the court
. Hing-yin and Thomas Tsang Hing-shun, she said that they were working with their lawyers on their next action.
Selwyn Yu SC, Tsang's lawyer, immediately informed Judge Andrew Macrae that his client was planning to take the case to the Court of Final Appeal and request a new trial. bail. But he later said that the defense was still considering the last appeal.
Tsang served two months of his initial 20-month tenure before obtaining bail in April of last year. With the reduction of sentence, he should serve another 10 months
In a 95-page judgment, the three appeal judges ruled on Friday that Tsang was aware and should have declared the conflict of interest that the prison – even though there was no corruption involved.
"A senior official who deliberately conceals a conflict of interest must know, with respect, what he does, and what he does is wrong," writes Macrae. on behalf of fellow judges Derek Pang Wai-cheong and Wally Yeung Chun-kuen
The conflict of interest centered on a three-story luxury penthouse in the trendy Futian district of Shenzhen, mainland China, Tsang wanted to do his temporary retirement home
The court learned that between 2010 and 2012, Tsang had begun negotiations on the lease of the penthouse, which belonged to a company chaired by the company. businessman Bill Wong Cho-bau. At the time, Tsang was also responsible for approving license applications for the Wave Media radio station, of which Wong was the majority shareholder.
Tsang was found guilty of misconduct by a verdict of 8-1 of the jury in February was acquitted of a second misconduct. The jury could not rule on a third charge of accepting an advantage as general manager.
During the course of the appeal, British lawyer Clare Montgomery QC argued that Tsang had no obligation to declare the penthouse arrangement, since 39, he had no interest in the radio station. If the public had known the real circumstances, she said, they would have known that there was nothing wrong and no declaration was necessary
. Macrae J. disagreed, saying that it was not a question of whether the agreement was corrupt. Describing the defense argument as putting "the cart in front of the horse," he said, "This goes against the whole philosophy of administration and the public service, which inculcates its agents the need to avoid conflicts of interest where the personal interests of the officer are in competition with or in conflict with, or could do so, with the interest of the government or its official functions. "
Tsang, having served in the government for decades, would have appreciated how the failure to report would have tainted the government's decision and the integrity of an official, the judge said.
"These are frankly The obvious consequences that [Tsang] of all people at the top of the government administration, after decades in the public service, would have easily and instinctively understood," said Judge Macrae .
The evidence was "as formidable as convincing" That Tsang could not simply neglect his duty to declare agreement with Wong, the judge said.Now, Tsang had "deliberately decided not to do such disclosure, knowing that he had a conflict of interest. "
The" generous "instruction of the jury in the trial of Donald Tsang created difficulties for the prosecution, [1669007] it has never been explained why [Tsang] did what he did, and the question marks about his actions and his integrity will inevitably remain and unfortunately as a judgment of his time as than the general manager, "said the judge. With respect to Tsang's sentence, the judges decided that even though the offense was serious, the trial judge had nevertheless pronounced an excessive sentence.
Eric Cheung Tat-ming, a senior law professor at the University of Hong Kong, said: Further pushing his record could be slim because it did not seem to imply important legal issues that had been left in abeyance.
Tsang's younger sister, Katherine Tsang King-suen, and her brother Tsang Yam-pui, a former police chief, also attended the hearing on Friday. Other supporters included some of Tsang's strongest political opponents, such as former Democratic lawmakers Albert Ho Chun-yan and Lee Wing-tat, who hugged him before Tsang went to court. 19659002]. our support, "said Ho.
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