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Cathay Pacific ex-staff jailed for bribes tied to human smuggling
The court said the former customer services officer used Cathay’s computer system to secure boarding passes and help ineligible mainland passengers through security.
A former customer services officer with Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific has been sentenced to one year and eight months after accepting bribes connected to a human smuggling scheme that helped mainland Chinese travellers travel overseas.
According to SCMP Economy, Tsui Ying-kit, 45, pleaded guilty to four conspiracy counts involving an agent accepting advantages, with payments totaling at least HK$18,000 (US$2,295) during the scheme spanning September 2008 to August 2009.
Prosecutors said investigators from Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption arrested Tsui and two other Cathay customer services officers for taking bribes to ensure an unspecified number of ineligible passengers could check in and pass security checks at Hong Kong International Airport.
The outlet reported that Tsui admitted accessing Cathay’s computer system to check flight information and security details so the intended travellers could receive boarding passes without complication, and that he offered up to HK$2,000 to colleagues for their help each time.