- Hui was sentenced to 7½ years in prison after being found guilty of five charges of bribery and misconduct in public office in 2014
- But he is being freed two years ahead of his term for his good behaviour
A former Hong Kong No. 2 official jailed for pocketing bribes and inducements totalling HK$19.6 million (US$2.51 million) from a prominent land developer will be set free on Wednesday after spending almost five years behind bars.
Former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan will walk free from the Stanley Prison in Southern District, where the flamboyant bureaucrat " who was once offered luxury flats in the affluent neighbourhood of Happy Valley " was jailed since December 2014.
He was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison after being found guilty of five charges of bribery and misconduct in public office during a 131-day trial in 2014.
His friend of 20 years, Raymond Chin Yuet-ming, said he had not made up his mind on whether to receive Hui from prison.
Chin accompanied Hui's wife Teresa Lo Mei-mei during a visit days after his sentencing. But on Tuesday, he said: "I have not visited him lately."
The marathon trial detailed how Hui, then in charge of significant projects at Ma Wan Park and West Kowloon Cultural District, placed himself in a compromised position after taking bribes from Sun Hung Kai Properties offered by its former co-chairman Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and two middlemen.
All four were convicted and sentenced to jail terms of various lengths.
Rafael Hui case: Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal judgment in brief
When taking the stand to defend himself, the former official also gave a rare glimpse of his lavish lifestyle, one he complained could not be sustained by his annual pay of HK$4.6 million. He had splurged more than HK$2 million at a music store over a few years and footed a HK$150,500 bill for a stay at a London hotel, according to his court testimony.
After the trial, Hui went bankrupt. His treasured collection of wine, Chinese paintings, sculptures, and records went on sale in 2016 to offset his reported debts of HK$75 million.
The 71-year-old is the last to be released from jail among the four. He is being freed two years ahead of his imposed jail sentence due to a discount awarded for his good behaviour.
The career civil servant " best known for his ability to come up with out-of-the-box game plans " served Hong Kong as the chief secretary between 2005 and 2007, and subsequently for the next two years as a member of the Executive Council, the top advisory body.
He was arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption in 2012 following an anonymous letter sent to the graft buster.
When he was put on trial in 2014, the court heard Hui accepted the HK$19.6 million while serving his official posts. Of that sum, HK$8.5 million was paid by Kwok in 2005 via two middlemen " Sun Hung Kai Properties executive director Thomas Chan Kui-yuen and former stock exchange official Francis Kwan Hung-sang. The remaining HK$11.1 million was from Chan and Kwan in 2007.
Guilty of graft, Rafael Hui and property tycoon Thomas Kwok stripped of civic honours
Between 2000 and 2007, Hui failed to tell the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority and later the government about unsecured loans granted by the property giant, and was allowed to live rent-free in two upscale flats at The Leighton Hill, Happy Valley, before he became the chief secretary.
Kwok was jailed for five years after being found guilty of one of his charges. His brother Raymond Kwok Ping-luen, also a co-chairman at that time, was acquitted of his charges. Chan and Kwan, who were also found guilty, were sentenced to six and five years in jail respectively.
Their final appeal was struck down by the city's top court in June 2017, with their case being turned into a landmark one since governing court rulings on misconduct involving officials.
Chan was the earliest to be released in October last year for his ailing health. Kwok was released in March this year, and Kwan, too, a month later.
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