Three more former site team leaders charged by ICAC for bribery over Third Runway Project

Three more former site team leaders of a sub-contractor for the airport’s Third Runway Project were charged on Wednesday by the ICAC for allegedly accepting bribes totaling over HK$800,000 from more than 80 workers in relation to their employment. 

The three are Tang Kwok-leung, 48, Jiang Fa, 55, and Ting Shi-tong, 61. They face a total of 30 charges, including 25 counts of agent accepting an advantage; three counts of conspiracy for agents to accept advantages; one of conspiracy to do an act tending to pervert the course of public justice; and one of blackmail. 

All three were released on bail before appearing in the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (Fri), where the prosecution will apply to transfer Tang’s case to the District Court. 

The three were site team leaders of MLife Engineering Ltd at the time, a sub-contractor responsible for recruiting construction workers for the Third Runway Project. 

Tang allegedly conspired with two other site team leaders and other workers to accept bribes of HK$40 to HK$400 per working day from over 80 carpenters, general workers, riggers, and electrical workers. The bribe payments received by the trio between June 2020 and March 2021 amounted to about HK$700,000. 

Tang also allegedly accepted bribes of HK$100 to HK$200 per working day from one of the site team leaders, totaling about HK$14,000. He allegedly conspired with that site team leader to instruct workers to falsely tell ICAC officers that no bribes were paid to the duo. 

Jiang allegedly accepted bribes totaling over HK$66,000 from two carpenters between March 2021 and April 2022 and demanded with menaces a daily payment of HK$300 per day from one of them concerning the work. 

Ting allegedly accepted bribes totaling over HK$22,000 from two workers between March and June 2022. 

So far, a total of 26 people – most of whom were site team leaders of MLife Engineering Ltd – were charged with collecting bribes totaling over HK$1.4 million from more than 130 workers in connection to the Third Runway Project. 

Eighteen out of the 23 former employees of the main contractor and a subcontractor for the project had pleaded guilty or were convicted earlier. They were jailed for up to 16 months, and three others are awaiting trial. 

An ICAC spokesperson reminded construction workers not to tolerate corruption and to report to the watchdog immediately should they be asked to pay bribes.