Senior Hong Kong policeman and two nightclub bosses plead guilty in HK$570,000 vice and corruption case
Superintendent Ng Wai-hon, 54, advised operators on how to evade investigations and inspections
A senior police officer and the operators of two nightclubs in Hong Kong’s notorious red light district have admitted to being part of a bribery, vice and corruption racket involving payments of more than half a million dollars.
Police superintendent Ng Wai-hon, 54, and nightclub boss Luen Kei-cheung, 47, who runs the private MB Club Mont Busa (MBC) and Golden, appeared in the District Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to a joint charge of conspiracy for a public servant to accept advantages, contrary to the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and the Crimes Ordinance.
Ng, Luen and fellow MBC and Golden operator Tse Hoi-kin, 38, all of whom had earlier been charged by the city’s Independent Commission Against Corruption, admitted that they had respectively accepted and offered bribes of HK$570,000 (US$73,000) in total in relation to the operation of the private clubs in Wan Chai.
Tse pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of aiding and abetting another person to offer an advantage to a public servant.
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Deputy Judge Li Chi-ho ordered that the remaining charges against the three be left on court file.
The judge adjourned the case to October 18 for sentencing and remanded the defendants in the custody of the Correctional Services Department.
Ng joined the force as an inspector in 1996 and was part of the team who investigated police constable Tsui Po-ko, who was implicated in a series of crimes. Tsui died in a shoot-out with another officer in Tsim Sha Tsui in 2006.
The court heard that at the time of the offences he was a superintendent attached to the police Administration and Support (Crime) of Crime Hong Kong Island Regional Headquarters and was tasked to oversee the operation of its Regional Anti-triad Unit.
In June 2015, the police anti-triad unit launched an investigation into MBC for suspected vice activities. In mid-2016, a similar intelligence-led probe began into Golden. The progress of the investigations was reported to Ng.
The court heard that Ng met one or both of the operators on 11 occasions and visited MBC twice between March 31, 2016 and January 24, 2017.
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Anti-corruption investigators discovered that during the meetings, Ng disclosed confidential information relating to the police investigations of the two nightclubs, including details of anonymous complaints against MBC received by police as well as police inspections of private clubs in Wan Chai, the court heard.
Investigations also revealed that Ng gave advice or assistance to Luen and Tse so that they could evade inspections and investigations. In return, Ng accepted bribes of HK$114,000 on five occasions – on January 27, May 3, September 6, November 16, 2016 and January 24, 2017 – totalling HK$570,000, from Luen as rewards.
The court heard that on January 24, 2017, Tse aided and abetted Luen to offer the HK$114,000 bribe to Ng for the same purpose.
The police force had given full assistance to the anti-graft body during its investigation.
