Director convicted over HKTDC tender leak scheme
HK01 · 3 SOURCESabout 5 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
A 41-year-old director and shareholder of AF Trinity Technologies Limited was convicted at Eastern Magistrates' Courts on September 24 of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring another person to commit misconduct in public office. The case centred on the leaking of confidential tender information during bidding for an upgrade project for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council's e-Marketplace platform, a contract worth more than HK$2.3 million that was ultimately awarded to the company. Magistrate Lam Tsz-hong adjourned sentencing to October 14 and allowed the defendant to remain on bail while a community service order report is prepared. A former HKTDC assistant manager in the same case had earlier admitted misconduct in public office and received a three-month jail term suspended for two years.
Key Points
- The defendant was Chow Hang-yip (周恒業), 41, a director and shareholder of AF Trinity Technologies Limited, one of the invited bidders for the project.
- The offence period in the charge was between December 20, 2018 and March 28, 2019, during the HKTDC tender exercise
- The former assistant manager, Leung Shui-ying, was responsible for preparing tender documents, assessment criteria and identifying service providers for the project.
- ICAC said Leung, who was a friend of Chow, provided contents of three rival bids and helped draft ATTL's technical proposal and oral presentation.
- Magistrate Lam said a February 26, 2019 voice message asking whether he could see other bidders' proposals amounted to encouragement and incitement
Why It Matters
The ruling underlines that even without evidence of bribery or direct benefit transfers, interference with a public or quasi-public tender process can still amount to serious criminal misconduct. For Hong Kong readers, the case is a reminder that procurement fairness and confidence in institutional integrity can be damaged when insiders share confidential bidding material with friends or business contacts.