The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) charged two property vendors on Wednesday over an alleged HK$30,000 bribe to a real estate agent in exchange for waiving a HK$155,000 commission fee.
The defendants, 48-year-old Leung Kee-ming and 34-year-old Tse Wai-ling, jointly face one count of offering an advantage to an agent.
The duo were released on bail and are scheduled to enter a plea at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow(Mar 13).
According to the ICAC, Leung had engaged Centaline Property Agency Limited(Centaline Property) to sell a residential flat on Lantau Island.
Under the signed estate agency agreement, Leung agreed to pay one percent commission of property transaction sum as agency commission to Centaline Property upon a successful sale.
The estate agent subsequently secured a potential buyer offering HK$15.5 million, which would result in HK$155,000 in commission payable to Centaline Property.
However, the two defendants allegedly offered a HK$30,000 bribe to the estate agent on December 23—one day before the signing of the preliminary sale and purchase agreement—to waive the agency commission.
The agent rejected the bribe and reported the matter to Centaline Property on the same day, leading to an ICAC investigation.
