Two men were suspected of having provided advantages or having promised to provide advantages in an attempt to convince others to vote for a certain group in the Legislative Council Election. Yesterday evening (2nd September) one of the suspects, surnamed ¡§Cheong¡¨, was caught red-handed by the CCAC officers when handing a bribe payment to a registered voter at a restaurant in the Central District. A pack of voter card information and one voter card were seized from the suspect. The two suspects have allegedly violated the law of illegal retention of voter cards and electoral corruption. The case was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office today (3rd September)
Category: Anti-Corruption Work Clean Elections Release method: Press Releases
Release:2005/09/03
Two men were suspected of having provided advantages or having promised to provide advantages in an attempt to convince others to vote for a certain group in the Legislative Council Election. Yesterday evening (2nd September) one of the suspects, surnamed "Cheong", was caught red-handed by the CCAC officers when handing a bribe payment to a registered voter at a restaurant in the Central District. A pack of voter card information and one voter card were seized from the suspect. The two suspects have allegedly violated the law of illegal retention of voter cards and electoral corruption. The case was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office today (3rd September).
In August 2005, the CCAC received complaints indicating that a frequent casino visitor, surnamed "Chan", had instructed a hotel employee, surnamed "Cheong", to collect copies of voter cards and of identification cards from his friends, who were asked to vote for a certain group in the upcoming Legislative Council Election and were promised to be rewarded with MOP500 per card on the Election Day. Yesterday evening (2nd September) at a restaurant in the Central District, the suspect "Cheong" had a meeting with a registered voter, who had handed in his voter card copy, intending to solicit more voter cards. When the suspect was handing MOP300 to the voter during the meeting, the CCAC investigators caught him right on the spot. The suspect was found carrying others' voter cards and voter card copies, as well as a list of voter card numbers and names.
During investigation, someone admitted to having promised to pay MOP500 for each voter card copy as a reward and having submitted the information collected to a third party. The case was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office today (3rd September). The CCAC will further investigate the matter.
In accordance with the Elector Registration Law and the Criminal Law, any parties who engage in illegal retention of voter cards are subject to an imprisonment of up to 5 years. Any parties involved in electoral corruption by providing or promising to provide advantages are subject to an imprisonment of 1 to 5 years. Those who accept such advantages are subject to an imprisonment of up to 3 years. No suspension is allowed.
