Top Court Hears Donald Tsang Misconduct Appeal

Hong Kong’s top court has heard that the judge who presided over the misconduct trial of former Chief Executive Donald Tsang failed to give jurors the correct directions before they found him guilty in 2017.

Tsang was originally jailed for 20 months for failing to tell the Executive Council about a property deal he had with a businessman whose company was applying for a digital radio licence. The prison term was later reduced to 12 months by the Court of Appeal.

At the Court of Final Appeal on Tuesday, the former leader's lawyer, Clare Montgomery QC, said for Tsang to be guilty of misconduct in public office it was not only a requirement that he deliberately concealed the deal with the businessman, but that he had done so knowing this to be unlawful.

However, the trial judge did not ask the jurors to consider whether Tsang was aware of any wrongdoing, Montgomery told the court.

Tsang, who was Chief Executive between 2005 and 2012, was released from prison in January after completing his sentence. The jail term was reduced by the Court of Appeal in July last year, even though the judges dismissed his challenge over the conviction.

The Court of Final Appeal hearing was expected to last just one day.