A businessman has been charged for offering bribes to a Customs officer for obtaining restricted information on textile companies.

No plea was taken when Tang Kwok-wai, 41, faced two counts of conspiracy for a public servant to accept advantages at Kowloon City Magistracy today. Magistrate Ernest Lin adjourned the case to June 24 for plea at the District Court. The defendant was granted $20,000 bail.

Tang is accused of conspiring with Len Sing-yan, then an Assistant Trade Controls Officer of the Customs & Excise Department, for the latter to accept bribes in the aggregate sum of about $12,000. The money was for Len to use his position to help retrieve restricted information in respect of a number of textile companies under investigation by the Trade & Industry Department.

He is also accused of conspiring with Len for the latter to accept periodic payments in the aggregate sum of about $70,000, as rewards for him to supply information about the duty rosters of Customs' Textiles Tactical Strike Units.

The alleged offences took place between October 2003 and last September.