HK air-con contractors jailed for bribing Macau hotel executive

Two former air-conditioning maintenance contractors in Hong Kong have been sentenced to prison after being found guilty of bribing an executive at a Macau hotel.

The news was announced by the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in a statement earlier this week.

According to ICAC reports, the bribes amounted to over HKD1 million, while the intended service contract was valued at about HKD34 million.

Woo Tak-hoi, 56, the then director of Wai Luen Air-conditioning Limited, received a two-year prison sentence after being convicted of two counts of conspiracy to offer advantages to an agent.

Li Kin-wang, 60, previously the senior sales manager of Oh Luen Air Conditioning Equipment Limited, received a jail term of one and a half years. He pleaded guilty to the two bribery charges along with three other counts of offering advantages to an agent.

Since 2013, Oh Luen had been an approved supplier of resort operator Wynn Resorts (Macau) S.A. The court heard that Li became acquainted with a then director of Wynn in 2014. The then director solicited bribes from Li in exchange for opportunities for Oh Luen to submit quotations or tenders to Wynn for air-conditioning system maintenance services. Both Woo and Li agreed to provide kickbacks to the director to secure more businesses for Oh Luen.

Between June 2014 and July 2015, Li offered three bribes totaling over HKD450,000 to the director via cheque or bank transfer in Hong Kong. During the period, business between Oh Luen and Wynn increased.

Between November 2016 and January 2017, Woo and Li conspired in Hong Kong to pay two bribes totaling HKD560,000 to the director.

ICAC enquiries revealed that between 2014 and 2017, Wynn had awarded numerous air-conditioning maintenance contracts worth around HKD$34 million in total to Oh Luen.

The ICAC expressed gratitude to the local Commission Against Corruption for its assistance during their investigations.