A committee member of Hing Tat Mansion’s owners’ corporation in Kwun Tong is challenging whether his cautioned statement and phone messages can be used as evidence in a bribery trial. The challenge was heard on the second day of proceedings, and the court had not yet ruled on whether the material could be admitted.
The five defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to offer advantages to an agent in connection with the building’s renovation project. Defence counsel alleged that the committee member was pressured by an Independent Commission Against Corruption investigator after his arrest on 4 January 2023. Counsel said the investigator took the phone from his hand and pressed him for its password; the defendant initially refused, then supplied it after being told he had done nothing wrong and asked what he was afraid of.
Counsel further alleged that the investigator warned the defendant that a lengthy call to his sister could put her in danger, and offered to write to the court in support of mitigation if he identified other people. Counsel also said the investigator threatened him on the way to hospital and at the hospital, warning that he could be hit by a car, left disabled or killed if he went home.
The senior investigator testified that the defendant gave him the password voluntarily. He said the defendant initially agreed to a video interview without a lawyer, but later asked for one; the investigator then paused the interview and allowed him to find a lawyer.