Former HK chief executive Donald Tsang jailed 20 months for misconduct

Former Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen [File photo: Chinanews.com]

Hong Kong’s former Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Wednesday for misconduct while in office.

He will be sent to prison immediately.

Justice Andrew Chan of Hong Kong’s High Court said he had set a starting point of 30 months in prison, but gave a discount of ten months because of Tsang’s past good character and service to Hong Kong.

Tsang was found guilty last Friday of a charge of misconduct for failing to declare a conflict of interest when he approved applications for radio broadcasting license by a broadcasting company Wave Media.

He had faced two charges of misconduct and one charge of bribery. The nine jurors entered a majority verdict last Friday of one charge of misconduct. Tsang was cleared of another charge of misconduct.

The jury could not reach a decision on whether Tsang was guilty of accepting advantage. The judge has tentatively scheduled the proceeding to September, but a date has yet to be fixed.