A billionaire who jointly controlled Asia 's biggest property development company and a man who was once Hong Kong 's second-ranked official were sentenced to prison for conspiracy to commit misconduct in one of the city 's most significant corruption trials . Tycoon Thomas Kwok received a five year sentence Tuesday , and former chief secretary Rafael Hui got seven and a half years , after having been found guilty by a Hong Kong high court jury last week . Kwok was also ordered to pay a $ 64,453 fine and $ 1.6 million in costs to the prosecution , while Hui was ordered to pay the Hong Kong government $ 1.4 million , equivalent to the amount of bribes taken . The main question during their trial was whether Kwok and his younger brother , Raymond Kwok , had bought the allegiance of Hui when he was in public office , in offenses spanning nearly a decade . The brothers , ranked 86th on the 2014 Forbes list of the world 's richest people , were co-chairs of the developer giant Sun Hung Kai , which is responsible for many of Hong Kong 's most iconic skyscrapers . The jury found the older Kwok , 63 , guilty of the charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct , for having bribed Hui between 2005 and 2007 . Raymond Kwok was cleared of all charges . In Hong Kong , the maximum penalty for misconduct and conspiracy for misconduct is seven years in prison and an unlimited fine . In passing sentence , Judge Andrew Macrae said he had discounted a year of imprisonment from Kwok 's sentence to reflect his philanthropic work . Kwok is also prohibited from serving as director of a company for five years . Last week , he resigned from his position at Sun Hung Kai , and his son , Adam Kwok , was named the company 's next executive director . In a sentencing hearing Monday , Kwok 's lawyer Clare Montgomery said her client was a man of good character with no previous convictions . She added that the conspiracy to commit misconduct charge related only to a short period of time and the court could not say whether or not he was the leader of that conspiracy . Montgomery also added that imprisonment would be a burden on his wife and his 86-year-old mother , who is in poor health . Ex-city official convicted . Hui , 66 , is the highest-ranking former official to be tried in Hong Kong . The court looked into whether Hui received monetary and housing benefits from the Kwoks in return for government decisions favorable to the company . The charges related to accepting rent-free apartments , unsecured loans and a consultancy agreement with the property company . The jury found him guilty on three counts of misconduct in a public office , conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office and conspiracy to offer an advantage to a public servant . Judge Macrae said that , as the instigator of the corruption , Hui should receive the harsher sentence . The judge said that , had he not committed the offending , Hui may have been the finest chief secretary in the territory 's recent history . He said the offending did nothing to dispel the perception in Hong Kong that government and business leaders were `` cozying up . '' The jury also found Thomas Chan , who was responsible for land acquisition at the company and Francis Kwan , a former Hong Kong Stock Exchange official , guilty of making a series of payments to Hui . During the sentencing hearing yesterday , Hui 's defence lawyer Edwin Choy read out a mitigation letter from the former chief executive of Hong Kong , Donald Tsang . In his letter , Tsang said : `` I was devastated when the jury found him guilty . '' The former leader of Hong Kong described Hui as an `` extraordinary '' and `` outstanding person '' . He also called on the judge to take into account Hui 's contribution to the city 's economy , including his role in protecting Hong Kong during the Asian financial crisis in 1997 . The case caused a media frenzy in the city , where real estate is a local obsession . Sun Hung Kai , which helped to build some of the tallest buildings in the city 's celebrated skyline , contributed to the Kwok brothers ' estimated $ 18.3 billion fortune . Hong Kong , a special administrative region of China , is considered to be one of the world 's least corrupt territories . According to Transparency International 's 2013 Corruptions Perceptions Index , Hong Kong is the 15th least corrupt territory in the world -- with the United States , by comparison , ranked 19th .
Billionaire Thomas Kwok sentenced to five years on misconduct charge . Hong Kong 's former No.2 official sentenced to seven and a half years . Rafael Hui , 66 , is the highest-ranking former official to be tried in Hong Kong . Property tycoon 's brother acquitted by jury .