William, as a ticketing officer of a travel agent, without obtaining permission from his employer, solicited and accepted advantages from customers for prioritising the sale of discounted tickets to them.  Both William and the clients who offered the advantages might contravene Section 9 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO).

Employees of travel agents should always handle customer requests impartially.  William disclosed the upcoming special offers of air tickets to several regular customers while intentionally recommending high-fare tickets to others.  Such an act breached professional integrity and negatively impacted the reputation of the travel agent.  If employees accept advantages to provide preferential treatment, it creates dissatisfaction or complaints from other customers and constitutes a violation of the POBO.

On the other hand, William should exercise prudent financial management and avoid risking his position due to debt, as this could lead to criminal offences. William’s illegal acts could be attributed to his poor financial management, which made him susceptible to financial temptations.  Ultimately, he resorted to taking risks to alleviate his financial burdens.  Employees should always exercise financial prudence to prevent falling into corruption traps.

Dried seafood is an advantage under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO).  If Victor, without obtaining the permission of his travel agent, accepted the gift from Vincent in exchange for preferential treatment in arranging the tour roster, Victor and Vincent might breach Section 9 of the POBO.  Even if Victor believed that Vincent was capable of leading high-spending tour groups and that acceptance of gift from Vincent would not influence his decision regarding the tour roster, it is no defence for Victor to accept the advantage. 

Additionally, according to Section 19 of the POBO, trade custom or practice does not constitute a defence for the offeror and the acceptor of an illegal advantage.  Although the gift were given to Victor during a festive occasion, this was not a defence in court.  The court would only consider whether Victor obtained approval from his employer.

As a manager, Victor should refrain from accepting advantages from subordinates to avoid any perception of bias and to ensure he can carry out his supervisory duties impartially.