Former Chief Secretary for Administration Rafael Hui Si-yan passed away at the age of 77 in a hospital due to a health issue on Sunday.
Hui joined the government in 1970 and has served as Secretary for Financial Services. Along with the then Financial Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and the then Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Joseph Yam Chi-kwong, the trio facilitated HK$100 billion of foreign exchange reserves to intervene in the market, successfully stabilizing the financial market and repelling international financial predators during the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
The move was considered one of Hui’s major achievements in his political life.
In 2005, Hui reached the pinnacle of his career, being nominated for Chief Secretary by then Chief Executive Tsang and appointed by the State Council.
However, he was involved in the Sun Hung Kai probe, the city’s biggest-ever corruption case. Hui was then arrested in March 2012 and charged with misconduct in public office for allegedly accepting multiple payments and unsecured loans, becoming the highest-ranking official arrested since the establishment of the HKSAR.
The case went to trial in the High Court in May 2014, and in December of the same year, Hui was found guilty on five counts. That included misconduct in public office and conspiracy to offer advantages to public officials. He was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison and ordered to return HK$11.182 million in bribes.
Hui appealed in 2017, but the appeal was rejected by the Court of Final Appeal. The government stripped Hui of his Gold Bauhinia Star and Grand Bauhinia Medal, and his appointment as a Justice of the Peace was also revoked in 2018.
Hui was also reportedly spending HK$210,000 on a single French meal, HK$2 million on records over several years, and approximately HK$7 million on expensive wines. He also disclosed in court that he paid HK$8.5 million to his Shanghai mistress.
Hui joined the government in September 1970 as an assistant education officer. He became commissioner for transport in 1992 and Secretary for Financial Services in 1995. In June 2005, he was appointed Chief Secretary for Administration by Beijing.
Hui also served as chief executive of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, successfully implementing the MPF Scheme, and also served as a director of Kowloon Motor Bus.
