Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Tsang was chief executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012

The former leader of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang, has gone on trial for corruption.

Mr Tsang pleaded not guilty to three charges of bribery and misconduct, relating to a luxury flat in China.

He is the highest-ranking retired official to be tried for corruption in Hong Kong and faces possible jail time in a case that has worried a city known for its clean reputation.

Mr Tsang served as chief executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012.

He faces charges of misconduct and accepting advantages as chief executive over events which took place near the end of his term, between 2010 and 2012.

'Bowtie Tsang' in the dock - Helier Cheung, BBC News, Hong Kong

Mr Tsang looked solemn as he stood in the dock, and pleaded "not guilty" to all three charges.

The former leader was popular when he first took office - he was considered competent, and more charismatic than his predecessor Tung Chee-hwa.

He had worked as a civil servant under British rule and was even awarded a knighthood in 1997 for his services to Hong Kong. People affectionately nicknamed him "Bowtie Tsang", after the accessory he liked to wear.

But by the time his term ended, his reputation was badly damaged by corruption allegations.

Hong Kong prides itself on its clean reputation - but this case has raised questions over the relationship between tycoons and government officials.

Prosecutors allege Mr Tsang engaged in a number of conflicts of interest without declaring them, including renting a luxury flat in southern China from the shareholder of a broadcast company, Wave Media, whose license applications he approved.

They allege the flat was redecorated for free for him and that he later nominated the interior designer for an honour.

Mr Tsang, 72, has previously insisted his conscience is clear.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Prosecutors also claim Mr Tsang approved a chairmanship appointment at Wave Media without declaring a conflict of interest

He first came to power promising a "clean and efficient" civil service, according to the South China Morning Post.

But his term ended in scandal when the penthouse claims came to light, launching a three-year inquiry culminating in the trial.

His deputy was also jailed for bribery two years ago.</s>HONG KONG (AFP, REUTERS) – Hong Kong’s former leader Donald Tsang, who ended his term in disgrace after accepting favours from tycoons, pleaded not guilty to bribery charges on Tuesday (Jan 3) at his high-profile corruption trial.

Tsang, 72, held the leadership post of chief executive for seven years from 2005 and is the highest-ranking Hong Kong official to face a corruption trial.

The case is set to send shockwaves through a city that has earned a reputation as one of the world’s most open and transparent markets.

Wearing his customary suit and bow-tie, a sombre-looking Tsang arrived hand-in-hand with his wife at the city’s High Court over an hour before the hearing was scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.

He pleaded “not guilty” to three charges of misconduct and bribery. Each charge carries a maximum jail sentence of seven years.

The charges pertain to the period when Tsang was chief executive.

He is accused of failing to disclose his plans to lease a luxury penthouse in the neighbouring city of Shenzhen from a major investor in a broadcaster – which at the time was seeking a licence from the Hong Kong government.

Tsang allegedly approved the company’s application for the licence, and also failed to declare that an architect he proposed for a government award had been employed as an interior designer on the flat.

The graft offences Tsang faces were allegedly committed between 2010 and 2012, the year he retired as chief executive.

The hearing is expected to last 20 days.

He has previously said that he had “every confidence” he would be exonerated.

Tsang, nicknamed “bow tie Tsang” for his sartorial flourish, became the financial hub’s second Chief Executive after his unpopular predecessor, Tung Chee Hwa, resigned citing health problems.

The son of a police officer, Tsang enjoyed a high-flying career, rising through the civil service ranks to serve as colonial Hong Kong’s first ethnic Chinese financial secretary just before the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997. He was knighted that same year.

In 2012, he apologised for separate allegations that he accepted inappropriate gifts from business friends in the form of trips on luxury yachts and private jets.

The trial comes at a time when residents are losing faith in Hong Kong’s leaders, as a string of high-profile corruption cases fuel public suspicions over cosy links between authorities and business leaders.

Critics blame the city’s method of electing its leader – who is selected by a 1,200-strong electoral committee made up of representatives of special interest groups weighted towards Beijing.

“I strongly believe that the chief executive has to (maintain) close relations with special interest groups and tycoons,” pro-democracy lawmaker Lam Cheuk Ting told AFP.

“It is very dangerous and very difficult to remain independent from those... groups,” said Lam, a former investigator for the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the city’s anti-graft agency.

“Tsang’s case is just the tip of the iceberg,” he added.

Hong Kong’s unpopular current leader Leung Chun Ying also faces allegations of corruption over receiving a reported payment of HK$50 million (S$9.3 million) from Australian engineering firm UGL before he took office.

Experts say the case sends a message that the judiciary is not afraid to go after high-ranking officials.

“It (Tsang’s case) sets a precedent because the current chief executive is also involved in allegations of corruption,” political expert Ma Ngok told AFP.

“That would create a public expectation that a case may be launched against Leung when he finishes his term,” Ma, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said.

In 2014, Tsang’s deputy Rafael Hui was jailed for seven-and-a-half years after being found guilty of taking bribes from Hong Kong property tycoon Thomas Kwok.</s>Former Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang (right) accompanied by his wife Selina Tsang outside the High Court on Tuesday. Photo: Xiaomei Chen</s>Hong Kong former leader pleads not guilty over corruption

Hong Kong's former leader Donald Tsang, who ended his term in disgrace after accepting favours from tycoons, pleaded not guilty to bribery charges Tuesday at his high-profile corruption trial.

Tsang, 72, held the leadership post of chief executive for seven years from 2005 and is the highest-ranking Hong Kong official to face a corruption trial.

Wearing his customary suit and bow-tie, a somber-looking Tsang arrived with his wife at the city's High Court over an hour before the hearing was scheduled to begin Tuesday.

He pleaded "not guilty" to three charges of misconduct and bribery.

The charges are linked to Tsang's failure to disclose his plans to lease a luxury flat in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen from a major investor in a broadcaster -- which at the time was seeking a licence from the Hong Kong government.

Tsang allegedly approved the company's application for the licence, and also failed to declare that an architect he proposed for a government award had been employed as an interior designer on the flat.

He has previously said that he had "every confidence" he would be exonerated.

The trial comes at a time when residents are losing faith in Hong Kong's leaders, as a string of high-profile corruption cases fuel public suspicions over cosy links between authorities and business leaders.

Hong Kong's unpopular current leader Leung Chun-ying also faces allegations of corruption over receiving a reported payment of HK$50 million ($6.5 million) from Australian engineering firm before he took office.

In 2014, Tsang's deputy Rafael Hui was jailed for seven-and-a-half years after being found guilty of taking bribes from Hong Kong property tycoon Thomas Kwok.</s>Hong Kong's former leader Donald Tsang, who ended his term in disgrace after accepting favours from tycoons, pleaded not guilty to bribery charges on Tuesday at his high-profile corruption trial.

Mr Tsang, 72, held the leadership post of chief executive for seven years from 2005 and is the highest-ranking Hong Kong official to face a corruption trial.

Wearing his customary suit and bow-tie, a somber-looking Mr Tsang arrived with his wife at the city's High Court over an hour before the hearing was scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

He pleaded "not guilty" to three charges of misconduct and bribery.</s>Hong Kong's former leader Donald Tsang, who ended his term in disgrace after accepting favours from tycoons, pleaded not guilty to bribery charges Tuesday at his high-profile corruption trial.

Tsang, 72, held the leadership post of chief executive for seven years from 2005 and is the highest-ranking Hong Kong official to face a corruption trial.

The case is set to send shockwaves through a city that has earned a reputation as one of the world's most open and transparent markets.

Wearing his customary suit and bow-tie, a somber-looking Tsang arrived hand-in-hand with his wife at the city's High Court over an hour before the hearing was scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.

He pleaded 'not guilty' to three charges of misconduct and bribery. Each charge carries a maximum jail sentence of seven years.

The charges pertain to the period when Tsang was chief executive.

He is accused of failing to disclose his plans to lease a luxury penthouse in the neighbouring city of Shenzhen from a major investor in a broadcaster - which at the time was seeking a licence from the Hong Kong government.

Tsang allegedly approved the company's application for the licence, and also failed to declare that an architect he proposed for a government award had been employed as an interior designer on the flat.

The hearing is expected to last 20 days.

He has previously said that he had 'every confidence' he would be exonerated.

In 2012 he apologised for separate allegations that he accepted inappropriate gifts from business friends in the form of trips on luxury yachts and private jets.

The trial comes at a time when residents are losing faith in Hong Kong's leaders, as a string of high-profile corruption cases fuel public suspicions over cosy links between authorities and business leaders.

Critics blame the city's method of electing its leader - who is selected by a 1,200-strong electoral committee made up of representatives of special interest groups weighted towards Beijing.

Pro-democracy politician Lam Chuek-ting said: 'I strongly believe that the chief executive has to (maintain) close relations with special interest groups and tycoons.

'It is very dangerous and very difficult to remain independent from those... groups,' said Lam, a former investigator for the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the city's anti-graft agency.

'Tsang's case is just the tip of the iceberg,' he added.

In 2014, Tsang's deputy Rafael Hui was jailed for seven-and-a-half years after being found guilty of taking bribes from Hong Kong property tycoon Thomas Kwok.</s>Former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang has denied charges of bribery related to a luxury penthouse in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

The 72-year-old pleaded not guilty to one count of "chief executive accepting an advantage" and another of misconduct in public office in the high court.

He pleaded not guilty to another two counts of misconduct in public office in late 2015.

Tsang is the highest-ranking ex-official to be charged in Hong Kong's history.

The charges allege he accepted refurbishment and redecoration work on the three-storey penthouse in Shenzhen that he had rented from the Shenzhen East Pacific Group, owned by property tycoon Bill Wong Cho-bau.

According to Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption, Tsang failed to disclose his rental negotiations with Mr Wong while his cabinet discussed and approved a digital broadcasting licence for a now defunct radio company in which Wong was a major shareholder.

Tsang also nominated an architect who had carried out design work on the penthouse for a government award.

Nicknamed "bow tie Tsang" for his sartorial flourish, he became Hong Kong's second chief executive in 2005 after his unpopular predecessor, Tung Chee-hwa, resigned citing health problems.

The son of a police officer, he enjoyed a high-flying career, rising through the civil service ranks to serve as colonial Hong Kong's first ethnic Chinese financial secretary just before the city's handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

He was knighted that same year.

The graft offences Tsang faces were allegedly committed between 2010 and 2012, the year he retired as chief executive.

Hong Kong returned to China under a one country, two systems formula, which guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including an independent legal system.</s>Hong Kong’s former top leader, Donald Tsang, pleaded not guilty to a charge of bribery related to the refurbishment of an apartment he was renting by a businessman who had matters pending before the city’s government.

Tsang was accused Oct. 11 of violating the city’s Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. The bribery charge, in addition to the two counts of misconduct to which he had already pleaded not guilty, carries a maximum HKD500,000 (USD64,000) fine and seven years in jail. The trial is expected to last until mid-February.

Tsang, 72, is the city’s highest- ranking former official to face charges from the Independent Commission Against Corruption, intensifying scrutiny of ties between government officials and business interests in the former British colony. The bow-tie-wearing Tsang took the top job in 2005 after the resignation of Tung Chee-hwa. He presided during a period of soaring property prices and global financial turmoil.

It’s the first high level bribery case in the Asian financial hub since the 2014 conviction of Hong Kong’s former No. 2 official, Rafael Hui, for taking HKD8.5 million from property billionaire Thomas Kwok. Hui, chief secretary during the first two years of Tsang’s administration, was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison. Kwok is appealing his five-year punishment.

The anti-corruption body itself has recently come under pressure after its acting head of operations, Rebecca Li Bo-lan, was removed from her role in the midst of an investigation into whether current Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying failed to disclose a HKD50 million payment from an Australian construction company. The agency’s chief said in July that he notified Leung before making his decision to remove Li, and that Leung hadn’t given his views or taken part in the decision process.

The Tsang affair is an embarrassment to Beijing, which controls the chief executive selection process via a 1,200-member election committee stacked with supporters. Tung departed after protests and Tsang ended his term under investigation. Leung, whose popularity has plummeted, isn’t seeking a second term.

“It is a systemic problem that won’t be fixed until we have electoral reform,” said Lam Cheuk-ting, a Legislative Council lawmaker and former anti- corruption investigator. His motion for a select committee to investigate Li’s removal was approved by the legislature in November.

“You can’t just blame the system,” he added. “It is about the personal integrity of the people themselves.”

The Tsang case revolves around whether the former chief executive failed to disclose the apartment between 2010 and 2012, when he left office after seven years as chief executive. The rental deal for the three-story apartment in the adjacent Chinese city of Shenzhen involved a major shareholder in Digital Broadcasting Corp., which at the time was applying for a broadcast license, according to prosecutors.

Tsang had already pleaded not guilty to a charge of misconduct in public office over allegations that he failed to disclose the relationship, as well as another charge that he supported the apartment’s interior designer for a top city honor.</s>HONG KONG, Jan. 3 (UPI) — Donald Tsang, Hong Kong’s chief executive from 2005 until 2012, has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges related to a luxury apartment in China.

Tsang, 72, pleaded not guilty to three charges of bribery and misconduct. Prosecutors allege Tsang did not declare numerous conflicts of interest, including renting a three-story luxury apartment in Shenzhen from businessman Bill Wong Cho-bau, a shareholder of the Wave Media broadcast company.

Prosecutors allege Tsang approved the company’s license applications. The apartment was later redecorated for free, while Tsang later nominated the apartment’s interior designer, Barrie Ho Chow-lai, for an honor, prosecutors said.

Tsang is the highest-ranking official to ever face a criminal trial in Hong Kong history. The trial will be determined by a panel of nine jurors.

Tsang faces up to 21 years in prison, as each charge carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years. He was initially popular when taking office, promising a “clean and efficient” tenure, but his popularity plummeted amid corruption allegations in his last years in office.</s>Hong Kong's former leader Donald Tsang, the highest-ranking official ever to be charged in the city's history, will make a plea for a bribery charge on Tuesday (Jan 3) as his graft trial began.

Tsang, 72, dressed in a black suit and black bow tie, walked into court with two security guards. He pleaded not guilty to two counts of misconduct in public office during a pre-trial in Dec 2016.

The charges alleged Tsang accepted free renovations on his rental penthouse under the Shenzhen East Pacific Group, owned by property tycoon and member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Bill Wong Cho-bau.

Tsang failed to disclose his rental negotiations with Wong while his cabinet discussed and approved a digital broadcasting license for a now defunct radio company, in which Wong was a major shareholder, Hong Kong's anti-graft agency the Independent Commission Against Corruption alleged.

Tsang, nicknamed "bow tie Tsang" for his fashion choice, retired as Chief Executive in 2012. The son of a police officer, Tsang enjoyed a high-flying career, rising through the ranks in civil service to serve as colonial Hong Kong's first ethnic Chinese financial secretary just before the handover in 1997.

He became the financial hub's second Chief Executive in 2005 after his unpopular predecessor Tung Chee-hwa resigned citing health problems. Half a million people protested against national security legislation and demanded Tung to resign in 2003.

Tsang's trial is expected to last for 20 days.
Former Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang, who is on trial for corruption, pleads not guilty to three charges of bribery and misconduct relating to a penthouse he leased in Shenzhen.