A former employee of a US domestic appliances manufacturer and his wife have been charged for accepting $12.9 million and US$549,000 in illegal commissions from suppliers.

Thomas Montanye Hoffman, 57, formerly employed by Lasko Products, and Hung Chao-yen, 45, face nine charges - three of conspiracy for an agent to accept advantages, three of an agent accepting an advantage, two of aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring an agent to accept advantages, and one of conspiracy to defraud.

They are on Independent Commission Against Corruption bail and will appear in Eastern Magistracy tomorrow.

Two of the charges allege the couple conspired with staff of two suppliers for Hoffman to accept commissions at the rate of 2% of the monthly invoiced amounts settled by Lasko with the suppliers. The commissions are said to be rewards for him to procure business from Lasko for the suppliers.

Corrupt commissions

Hoffman alone faces one count of conspiring with two staff of another supplier for him to accept commissions at the rate of 5% of the monthly invoiced amount settled by Lasko. He also faces three counts of accepting $12.9 million and US$549,000 in commissions from the three suppliers as rewards for procuring business from Lasko.

Hung faces two counts of aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring Hoffman to accept illegal commissions from two of the suppliers.

The couple is also charged with one count of conspiring with others to defraud the Immigration Department by falsely representing that Hung was employed as a marketing research manager of one of the suppliers, thereby inducing the granting of working visas to her.

The alleged offences occurred between May 1993 and February last year.