[EN] "Integrity - Our Winning Edge" Corruption Prevention Tips for Retail Industry https://hkbedc.icac.hk/Upload/guides/114/pdf/cf643bd3a5904a7591b6f050c474dc3d.pdf Image link: https://hkbedc.icac.hk/cache/img/2980aac73c62a1b5aac75d6953b845f0.png [ZH-HANT] 「誠信旅業 致勝之道」零售業防貪貼士 https://hkbedc.icac.hk/Upload/guides/114/pdf/9b2652ea57ca4cb0a6b863465c6948c7.pdf Image link: https://hkbedc.icac.hk/cache/img/a011b2d2d179ff105c22814fbf6f6c49.png [ZH-HANS] 「诚信旅业 致胜之道」零售业防贪贴士 https://hkbedc.icac.hk/Upload/guides/114/pdf/9b2652ea57ca4cb0a6b863465c6948c7.pdf Image link: https://hkbedc.icac.hk/cache/img/a011b2d2d179ff105c22814fbf6f6c49.png
Introduction
York, the owner of a handbag shop, noticed that many tourists were visiting a watch store nearby. Realising the potential for increased business from inbound visitors, he planned to have his shop registered with the Travel Industry Authority (TIA) through a travel agent's recommendation.
One day, when tourist guide Yvette brought a tour group to the watch store, York approached her with an offer of $10,000 and discounts from his store in exchange for recommending his shop to her travel agent. Tempted by the proposal, Yvette recommended York's shop to her travel agent for registration without thoroughly verifying its quality, pricing, or service standards.
Once York's shop became registered, Yvette frequently brought tour groups to patronise it. To show appreciation for Yvette's assistance, York rewarded her with an additional $5,000.
When recommending shop registration to the travel agent, tourist guides should consider product quality, pricing, and services to ensure customer satisfaction and preserve the travel agent’s reputation. If any acceptance of advantage is involved, regardless of the recommendation’s outcome, it would constitute a corruption offence. Yvette, as a tourist guide, is regarded as an agent. Without the permission of her principal, i.e. her travel agent, she abused her official capacity by accepting money and shop discounts from York as an inducement to recommend the handbag shop for registration. She might breach Section 9 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO) and York as the offeror of the bribe might also be liable for the offence.
Even if the travel agent did not eventually accept Yvette's recommendation to register the handbag shop, both Yvette and York might still commit an offence once an agreement to offer and accept a bribe is established, according to Section 11 of the POBO. Furthermore, if Yvette arranged inbound tourists to patronise non-registered shops, she would also violate the “Directives for Licensees”.
Timothy had been working as a tourist guide for a travel agent for nearly ten years. All along, his company and several jewellery shops had agreed that the shops would rebate his company 10% of the total sales proceeds from tourists. With the company’s expansion, Timothy was also assigned to guide inbound Mainland tour groups.
One day, as usual, Timothy guided the tourists to the jewellery shop registered by his company. After settling the tourists, he chatted with Tom, the shop’s proprietor. Tom remarked that Mainland groups always brought him good profits. In response, Timothy suggested that if Tom provided him personally with an additional 5% rebate on top of the 10% given to the company, it would give him higher incentive to promote Tom’s shop to the tourists. He added that a tourist guide’s enthusiasm in promotion could significantly influence the tourists’ purchasing decisions. Unable to bear the potential loss, Tom reluctantly succumbed to Timothy’s request. To compensate for the extra commission, Tom began misleading tourists into purchasing newly launched brands, falsely claiming they were well-known models and selling them at inflated prices.
That evening after the tourists had returned to their hotel, Troy, the Mainland escort of the tour group, offered Timothy a red packet and hinted that it would bring him good luck and ensure their smooth cooperation in the future. Thinking it was a “first-meeting gift”, Timothy accepted it gratefully.
According to Section 9 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO), it is an offence for an employee to solicit or accept any advantage in relation to his official duty without the permission of his employer. Timothy, as an employee of a travel agent, solicited and accepted an additional rebate from Tom without the permission of the travel agent while carrying out his duties. Therefore, both Timothy and Tom might breach the POBO.
Tom should promptly report Timothy’s solicitation to the ICAC. By misleading tourists into purchasing purported branded goods, Tom not only jeopardised his company’s reputation, but also put the integrity of Hong Kong’s tourism industry at risk.
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. Timothy should adhere to the company’s policies regarding the acceptance of advantages to avoid engaging in illegal or unethical behaviour. Despite his role as a Mainland tour escort, Troy should also comply with the POBO and other laws while escorting the group in Hong Kong.
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