Three Cathay staff jailed over bribes for discount tickets

Three former Cathay Pacific cabin crew members have been jailed for five to six months for accepting hundreds of thousands in bribes by using their employee discount to buy 75 flight tickets for three overseas travelers.

Former flight purser Lau Ching-man, 36, and former flight attendants Lee Chung-fai, 28, and Wong Oi-ting, 33, were sentenced by District Court judge Anthony Kwok Kai-on.

Lau was sentenced to six months after pleading guilty to three counts of conspiracy to accept advantage, while Lee and Wong were each found guilty of one count of the same charge and given five months each.

The court heard the three defendants had fully repaid Cathay a total of around US$11,500 (HK$89,700), equivalent to the amount of bribes involved.

Kwok said that although jail terms are inevitable as the nature of the case was corrupt, the cabin crew's sentences should be measured in months instead of years, as their actions only caused "minimal losses."

Between 2018 and 2019, Lau accepted bribes from an overseas fashion designer to help her and her friends purchase discounted air tickets using the staff benefits under Cathay's Companion Travel Scheme.

The scheme allows Cathay employees to nominate a partner, family member, or friend as a travel companion to enjoy ticket discounts. Airline staff are prohibited from receiving advantages for nominating others as travel companions.

Lau subsequently accepted bribes totaling over US$1,500 for nominating the fashion designer as her traveling companions.

She urged Lee and Wong to nominate the two friends of the fashion designer as their travel companions, for which Lee and Wong respectively accepted a bribe of about US$5,000 and US$3,500.

The prosecution argued the trio had caused Cathay a loss of HK$860,000 in revenue for a total of 49 flight tickets that were purchased at concessionary rates.

But Kwok rejected the claim, saying the scheme had stated holders of discounted tickets could only board a plane with empty seats.

"Viewed in this angle, the actual financial loss suggested by the prosecution is thus largely misconceived and grossly inflated without due consideration of the practice and policy of [Cathay] and the commercial reality," Kwok said.

Defense lawyers said in mitigation that the three had suffered excessive stress from the proceedings, with Lau, now volunteering, hoping to be a role model to her son.

Lee had attended international sports events, and decided to pursue a career in physiotherapy in the near future, while Wong faced financial burden at the time of the crime but now the chance of her repeating the offense was low.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com