Two former Bank of China (HK) employees have admitted accepting bribes from a colleague for retrieving new banknotes bearing special serial numbers.

Cashier Kan Hin-kuen, 34, and clerk Tsui Tsz-tuen, 45, each pleaded guilty to one count of an agent accepting an advantage at Eastern Magistracy today. Co-defendant Lee Muk-yiu, 46, another former clerk of the bank, earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of offering an advantage.

Magistrate Adriana Tse adjourned the case to December 4 for sentence, and remanded the defendants in custody.

Lee and Tsui were responsible for arranging and distributing banknotes to branches, while Kan was a cashier at the Harbour Road branch. Kan accepted $5,000 in bribes from Lee for retrieving special banknotes totalling $300,000. Lee, who also sought the corrupt assistance of Tsui, sold some of the banknotes in the market at a price much higher than their face value.

Independent Commission Against Corruption officers arrested them last December. Lee admitted offering $10,000 to Tsui, while Tsui admitted accepting $60,000 from Lee.

A search of Tsui's home recovered $32,770. Tsui confirmed that it was part of the corrupt payments he had received from Lee. Lee's home was also searched, resulting in the recovery of 527 banknotes totalling $186,570. Lee admitted that 260 of them, totalling $139,500, were obtained through the assistance of Kan.