Hong Kong: Bid rigging trial ends in 35 month sentence

A judge on Thursday urged the government to set up a statutory body to regulate building renovation, as he sentenced a renovation subcontractor to 35 months in jail in a case which has alarmed Hong Kong’s homeowners.

District Court judge Josiah Lam Wai-kuen made the remarks after he passed the sentence on Yau Shui-tin, who blew the whistle on a $33.5 million Sha Tin bid-rigging project that he helped arranged.

Yau admitted to his role as a middleman in the controversial housing project involving $33.5 million at Garden Vista to conspire with six others including staff from the management, consultancy, and engineering firm, as well as the chairman of Garden Vista’s incorporated owners.

Judge Lam stated, “A statutory body should be set up for regulation,” adding that home-owners often lacked the professional knowledge to determine whether certain renovation procedures were needed and, if so, how much they would cost.

Full Content: South China Morning Post

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