Govt To See If Jailed Ex-minister Can Move To HK

Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Thursday told the Legislative Council that the government would study whether former Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho, who has been jailed in the United States for bribery, could be transferred back to Hong Kong to serve out his sentence.

The CE made the revelation while answering a question from New People’s Party chairwoman Regina Ip during Lam's latest question-and-answer session in Legco.

Ho, who's 69, was jailed for three years by a court in New York in March for bribing African leaders to win oil rights for one of China's biggest energy firms. But he was given credit for the 16 months he's already served, he will – at most – spend only an additional 20 months behind bars.

Ip had urged Lam to help ease her former colleague's 'suffering'. The former security secretary also pointed out that Hong Kong and the United States have an agreement on such matters.

Lam said she will ask the security minister to look into the issue, and see if her administration can make this request, or if Ho has to raise the matter himself.