Former Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) yesterday saw his misconduct conviction quashed by the territory’s top court, the final twist to one of Hong Kong’s most high-profile corruption cases.
Tsang was jailed in 2017 after being found guilty of failing to disclose his plans to lease a luxury apartment in Shenzhen from a major investor in a broadcaster, which was later granted a license from the government while he was leader.
The 74-year-old, who held the post of chief executive for seven years from 2005, was the most senior official ever to be convicted in a criminal trial and the highest-ranking one to be put behind bars.
However, he was exonerated by the Court of Final Appeal, which quashed his misconduct in public office conviction, ending a seven-year legal ordeal.
Tsang, who was released from prison in January on health grounds, was not present in court for the verdict.
However, he issued a statement, saying “seven years of tangled legal battles have finally ended. My heart is filled with gratitude,” adding that much of his savings had been swallowed up by the court cases.
The unanimous decision overturned two lower court rulings that found that his failure to make a declaration of interest over the apartment deserved steep punishment because of the high office he held.
The acquittal revolved around improper directions given by the trial judge to the jury over the misconduct charge, given jurors had cleared Tsang of a more serious bribery offense.
It is a major blow for the territory’s Independent Commission Against Corruption, which has long been accused by critics of being toothless and has now seen its most famous conviction collapse.
Tsang was Hong Kong’s second leader after the 1997 handover to China and was regarded as something of a safe pair of hands who carefully steered the territory through the global economic meltdown caused by the 2008 crash.
Tsang’s trial came at a time when residents were losing faith in Hong Kong’s leaders after a string of corruption cases fueled suspicions over links between public officials and business figures.
His successors, C.Y. Leung (梁振英) and current Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) have found themselves beset by dismal poll ratings fueled by the perception that they have embraced Beijing’s push in the past few years to stamp down on freedoms and dissent within the semi-autonomous territory.
Hong Kong is being rocked by its worst political unrest in five decades, sparked by a deeply divisive and now-postponed plan by Lam’s administration to pass a bill that would allow extraditions to China.
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