Former Hong Kong chief secretary Rafael Hui released from prison after serving five years for bribery, misconduct

• The ex-No 2 official found guilty of accepting nearly HK$20 million following high profile corruption trial in 2014
• He is released early from Stanley Prison on Wednesday morning for good behaviour

A former Hong Kong No 2 official jailed for pocketing nearly HK$20 million from a prominent land developer was released on Wednesday after spending five years behind bars.

Former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan walked out of Stanley Prison in Southern district on early release because of good behaviour.

He was seen smiling but did not speak to the media gathered outside when he left the prison at about 9.15am, accompanied by an entourage who led him to a black seven-seater vehicle carrying both Hong Kong and mainland Chinese number plates.

Former Hong Kong chief secretary Rafael Hui leaves Stanley Prison on Wednesday morning after spending five years behind barsVideo: SCMP/Chris Lau pic.twitter.com/S8kCO1a5My

" SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) December 18, 2019

Hui's wife Teresa Lo Mei-mei was not there to receive him but he was met by his friend of two decades, Raymond Chin Yuet-ming.

The former top official, who looked significantly thinner than when he was last seen in public, did not respond to questions from journalists about the state of his health and emotions.

Hui, 71, was sentenced in 2014 " along with two middlemen and one of the city's richest property tycoons " after a 131-day corruption trial in one of the most high profile cases since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Hui was originally handed 7 1/2 years in prison after the court found him guilty of accepting HK$19.6 million (US$2.51 million) from prominent land developer Sun Hung Kai Properties, offered by its former co-chairman Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and two middleman, ex-SHKP executive director Thomas Chan Kui-yuen and Francis Kwan Hung-sang, a former stock exchange official.

The trial also offered a rare glimpse into the former civil servant's lavish lifestyle, which eventually resulted in his bankruptcy. Hui also confessed about his extramarital affairs.

Former chief secretary Rafael Hui to walk free from jail after five years

He served as chief secretary between 2005 and 2007, and subsequently for the next two years as a member of the Executive Council, the city leader's cabinet.

Hui's fall from grace began after he was arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption in 2012 following an anonymous letter sent to the graft-buster.

He was put on trial in 2014. The court heard Hui accepted the HK$19.6 million while in his official post. Of that sum, HK$8.5 million was paid by Kwok in 2005 through Chan and Kwan. The remaining HK$11.1 million was directly from the pair in 2007.

Hui was also offered the chance to live rent-free in two upscale flats at The Leighton Hill in Happy Valley.

Tycoon Thomas Kwok freed after three years in prison for bribery

Taking the stand, he once told the court he forked out HK$150,500 to stay at a London hotel. He also confessed he had spent HK$7.5 million on a young Shanghai lover.

He was found guilty of five of the eight bribery and misconduct offences he faced.

Kwok was jailed for five years after being found guilty of one charge. His brother Raymond Kwok Ping-luen, also a co-chairman at the time, was acquitted of the charges against him.

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.

Kwan was the earliest to be released in April last year, followed by Chan, who was freed in October in the same year because of his ailing health. Kwok was released in March this year.

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