A former Hong Kong government official was on Friday denied bail in a US case accusing of him using bribes to secure business deals.
Former Hong Kong secretary for home affairs Patrick Ho (何志平) was last week jailed after being charged with paying bribes on behalf of a Chinese energy conglomerate to the president of Chad and the Ugandan foreign minister.
US Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman rejected a bid by 68-year-old Ho’s lawyers to have him released on US$1 million bond and put under home detention with electronic monitoring at a rented Manhattan apartment, saying that she agreed with prosecutors’ argument that he was a flight risk.
One defense attorney said he would appeal the bail decision.
Ho and 61-year-old former Senegalese minister of foreign affairs Cheikh Gadio were charged in Manhattan federal court with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, international money laundering and conspiracy.
Prosecutors allege that Ho hatched the scheme at the UN when Ugandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Sam Kutesa was president of the UN General Assembly.
Beginning in October 2014, the pair allegedly arranged bribes to secure business advantages for a Shanghai-headquartered multibillion-dollar conglomerate that operates internationally in the energy and financial sectors, court papers said.
Arguing against bail on Friday, Assistant US Attorney Daniel Richenthal told Freeman that Ho is worth up to US$8 million, has no ties to the US and is facing more than 10 years in prison if convicted.
“His incentive to flee is massive,” Richenthal said. “His ability to flee is massive.”
He also argued that the officials Ho allegedly bribed would have incentive to help him get out of the US and into countries without extradition treaties.
“There are a lot of people who would rather not see what the defendant did aired in open court,” Richenthal said.
Defense attorney Edward Kim described his client as a respected US-trained eye doctor and former Cabinet-level official in Hong Kong.
“To flee would be a disgrace,” Kim said.
“It would destroy everything he worked for. It would destroy his reputation,” he added.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese