Ex-McDonald's construction consultant charged with bribery over $80,000 watch

A former McDonald's construction consultant faced bribery charges after allegedly receiving a watch worth more than HK$80,000 from a contractor couple.

The trio was charged with offering and accepting a bribe by the ICAC and the case is scheduled for plea at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on Tuesday (Feb 25).

MHK Restaurants Limited (MHK) operates over 200 fast food restaurants in the city under the brand name McDonald's, with its business development department managing restaurant renovation projects. 

The 45-year-old defendant Ling Mun-tong, a former construction consultant of MHK, faced one count of agent accepting an advantage.

Meanwhile, the co-defendants, Chow Chi-kuen, 48, the engineering manager of Wardson Deco-Construction Limited (Wardson), and his wife Chan Chin-yu, 30, the director-cum-shareholder of Wardson, were charged with offering an advantage to an agent.

Ling was responsible for conducting tender exercises, including inviting contractors to submit tenders, submitting tender analyses and making recommendations.
The charge accused Ling of accepting a watch worth more than HK$80,000 from the couple on December 2, 2023 in exchange for special treatment, while Chows were charged with offering the watch to gain Ling's favour.

Between September 2021 and December 2023, Wardson received 34 renovation projects, 14 variation orders, and minor MHK works totaling over HK$18 million.

Additionally, Ling was involved in a bank mortgage loan fraud case and faced one charge of fraud, which violated section 16A of the Theft Ordinance and would be heard in the Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on Tuesday (Feb 25)