Governance: HK Jockey Club - riding for a fall

The charge alleges that between June and November 2010, the defendant, Robert Ng Ka-ki, John Douglas Mackie, Tong Kam-pui and Ho Wai-shek conspired together to defraud HKJC by falsely stating that the information in an applicant's racing membership application form was true.

They were alleged to have provided false information on their acquaintance with the applicant, respective length of acquaintance and nature of relationship with him. However, ICAC says that no advantage had been received by them for sponsoring the application.

Ng, 56, Tong, 62, and Ho, 53, all members of HKJC; and Mackie, 82, a voting member of HKJC, were earlier charged with the same conspiracy offence; while Ng alone faced one count of agent accepting an advantage in relation to the same application for racing membership. They appeared in Eastern Magistracy on 16 May for mention.

Another man Lam Wai-chee, 59, also appeared in Eastern Magistracy on Tuesday (24 May) after being charged by the ICAC with one count of aiding and abetting agent to accept an advantage in a separate case.

The charge alleged Lam of aiding and abetting Ng to accept HKD250,000 as a reward for providing a HKJC racing membership application form to an applicant and arranging HKJC members to be the proposing and seconding voting members and the supporting members in respect of the application.

Ng, Tong, Ho, Mackie and Lam had their cases adjourned to 14 July 14, pending consolidation.

Related Story and backgrounder: Corruption: Hong Kong Jockey Club's reputation on the line