Twenty-one people have been arrested in a crackdown by Hong Kong’s anti-graft agency on a triad-linked corruption syndicate accused of manipulating renovation projects at two residential estates in Kwun Tong, with one contract valued at HK$33 million (US$4.2 million).
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Friday that the 15 men and six women, aged between 30 and 81, apprehended last week, included core members of the corruption ring.
Among those detained were intermediaries, engineering consultants, contractors and members of the housing estate owners’ incorporations, some of whom were believed to have ties to triad societies.
The arrests were made after November’s fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po that killed at least 161 people. The devastating blaze heightened public concern over bid rigging in residential estates and possible corruption in the renovation industry.
While the ICAC did not disclose the names of the housing estates involved in the latest operation, it said that in one project, a contractor allegedly bribed engineering consultants and certain members of an owners’ incorporation through intermediaries to secure a contract worth about HK$33 million.
“Another project, still in the preparation phase, involved an intermediary suspected of collecting ‘authorisation letters’ from owners through corrupt practices, likely with the intent to manipulate the owners’ incorporation to facilitate future contract acquisitions for the renovation work,” the agency said.
