An 80-year-old man has been charged with offering HK$10,000 to district councillor Lee Ka Hin, allegedly to get him to use his position to pressure a pastor into meeting the man about a private matter. The Independent Commission Against Corruption charged him on 7 October with one count of offering an advantage to a public servant.
The commission’s account says the man first sought Lee’s help through the district council’s public-meeting scheme in early July. He later visited Lee’s office and asked for a folder to be passed to Lee. The folder allegedly contained HK$10,000 in cash and a letter signed by the man, asking Lee to direct an assistant to use pressure to arrange the meeting.
Lee reportedly refused the money and informed the district council. The charge alleges that the offer was made on 3 August.
The man was released on bail and was due to enter a plea at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on 9 October.