It is a humiliating end to a long and stellar career for Donald Tsang.
The former Hong Kong chief executive driven out of court in a prison van on Wednesday (February 22) after being sentenced to 20 months behind bars, making him the highest-ranking ex-official to be jailed in the city’s history.
BBC reported that during sentencing, Judge Andrew Chan said: “Never in my judicial career have I seen a man fall from such a height.”
“Today is a very dark day. My family and I are very disappointed and sad at the court’s decision today. Donald and I have been greatly troubled and felt immense pressure in the past five years,” Tsang’s wife, Selina said.
The court found Tsang guilty of misconduct in office between 2010 and 2012 for hiding negotiations with a property tycoon over a luxury penthouse in mainland China while Tsang’s cabinet rubber-stamped a broadcasting license to a company in which the same tycoon held a major stake.
His sentence was reduced by 10 months after the judge took into account Tsang’s long record of public service—more than forty years, during which he was knighted by outgoing British colonial rulers in 1997.
A number of Hong Kong figures wrote letters vouching for Tsang’s good character and pleading for a lower sentence for the former leader.
Tsang’s his legal battles aren’t over yet. He is set to face a retrial for another bribery charge later in the year.
(REUTERS)
