A former Hong Kong government engineer was jailed for five years and three months on Tuesday for laundering HK$6.26 million (US$804,000) in illegal proceeds, having lived far beyond his legitimate income.
The High Court heard that 60-year-old Zsa Sing-tak had also accepted a HK$40,000 bribe to favour engineering firms linked to a friend during tendering processes for various government building works, including the maintenance of drinking fountains at municipal premises.
Defence lawyers said the former civil servant was driven by greed and a desire to maintain a lavish lifestyle for his family of four. Zsa worked as a senior building services engineer for the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department before his arrest in February 2019.
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His wife, Ng Wai-shan, was a clinical psychologist with the Social Welfare Department and the proprietor of Veranique Zsa, a fashion brand selling women’s shoes and handbags.
The court heard that the couple had struggled to support their son’s studies at an international school in Hong Kong and to provide for their unemployed daughter in Canada.
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The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found that between January 2012 and August 2019, the couple spent HK$52.5 million – far exceeding the HK$40.6 million they had earned through salaries, investments and loans.
Further inquiries revealed that the couple had received 448 cash deposits from dubious sources into 30 bank accounts, totalling HK$11.9 million.