Senior bank credit manager Lam Tze-leung, 52, has been jailed seven years and nine months for granting over $490 million in letters of credit.

Former Hang Seng Bank employee, Lam was today found guilty at the Court of First Instance of five counts of accepting an advantage as an agent and four of conspiracy to defraud. Deputy Judge Alan Wright reprimanded the defendant for abusing his senior position.

The court heard between May 1994 and February 1996, Lam accepted a Rolex watch and bribe payments of $100,000 and Can$10,000 from Ho Siu-hoi, and a pair of Rolex watches from Ho's father, Ho Chi-chun. They were then shareholders-cum-directors of Au Kiang International and Dero Enterprises. The advantages were rewards for Lam to facilitate the granting and maintaining of credit arrangements by the bank to the firms.

Between June 1995 and January 1998, Lam conspired with others to defraud the bank by causing Au Kiang or Dero to apply and utilise credit facilities from the bank in the form of 136 letters of credit.

They submitted false documents to the bank to support the application, purportedly evidencing underlying commercial transactions between Au Kiang, Dero, Star Regent International and Pure Guard Industrial.

As a result, the bank released over $490 million to Star Regent and Pure Guard, which were in fact controlled by the Hos.

Lam left Hong Kong in August 1998 shortly before the Independent Commission Against Corruption launched its investigation. A magistrate issued an arrest warrant, and a request was made for Lam's arrest in Canada.