Former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang has been sentenced to 20 months in jail without suspended sentence for misconduct in public office by Hong Kong's High Court on Wednesday, becoming the city’s highest-ranked official to be put behind bars.
His legal troubles are not yet over, as he faces another trial for bribery in September.
Donald Tsang in a prison van transporting him to Hong Kong's High Court on February 22, 2017. /CGTN Photo
Tsang, 72, was the chief executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from 2005 to 2012.
Tsang, who had spent the past two days in custody, was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s custodial ward on Monday night for a severe cough.
Media surround a prison van transporting former Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang as it arrives at the High Court for the sentencing of Tsang on misconduct charges in Hong Kong on February 22, 2017. /CFP Photo
Tsang is alleged to have accepted free renovation of a penthouse in the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province from businessman Bill Wong in return for granting a digital radio license to Wong's company.
Last Friday, after a six-week trial, the former Hong Kong leader was convicted on a separate charge of misconduct for failing to tell the Executive Council – the government’s top decision making body – that he was leasing the penthouse.
Former Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang arrivies at Hong Kong's High Court with his wife Selina Tsang on Wednesday. /CGTN Photo
Donald Tsang's penthouse in the city of Shenzhen. /CGTN Photo
But the jury unanimously acquitted Tsang of another misconduct charge, which alleged he failed to disclose his relationship with an interior designer working on the penthouse when he nominated the designer for a prestigious government award.
Despite Friday's verdic, reflecting on his 45 years in government service, Tsang said he has no regrets in choosing a lifelong career in public office.
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