--- description: The Hong Kong government's former No. 2, Rafael Hui, and billionaire Thomas Kwok, were sentenced to 7.5 and 5 years respectively title: Billionaire Hong Kong Tycoon and Former Official Jailed image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3607c0301d6d4de0/6987709455a8594f49a84f1b/ap433408079322.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Hong Kong](/tag/hong-kong/) ## Hong Kong Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Billionaire Hong Kong Tycoon and Former Official Jailed for Corruption by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 23, 2014 5:46 AM CUT  In this photo taken through a tinted glass, former Hong Kong Chief Secretary Rafael Hui, right, is escorted by a staff member from Hong Kong Correctional Services inside a van outside the High Court in Hong Kong on Dec. 19, 2014 In this photo taken through a tinted glass, former Hong Kong Chief Secretary Rafael Hui, right, is escorted by a staff member from Hong Kong Correctional Services inside a van outside the High Court in Hong Kong on Dec. 19, 2014Vincent Yu—AP by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 23, 2014 5:46 AM CUT The former No. 2 official in the Hong Kong government, Rafael Hui, and billionaire Thomas Kwok — until last week co-chairman of the world’s second largest property developer by market value, Sun Hung Kai — were [sentenced](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1668154/live-thomas-kwok-jailed-five-years "undefined") Tuesday to 7½ and five years in prison respectively on graft charges. Hui was ordered to pay the Hong Kong government $1.4 million, equivalent to the bribe he had been found guilty of accepting from Kwok, the _South China Morning Post_ reports. The two are the most prominent Hong Kongers to date to be snared by the city’s Independent Commission Against Corruption. They were [found guilty](http://time.com/3641596/thomas-kwok-billionaire-hong-kong-rafael-hui-bribery-convicted/ "undefined") last week of colluding in the early to middle part of the past decade to ensure advantages for Sun Hung Kai. “It is vitally important in these times the Hong Kong government and business community remain and are seen to remain corruption-free,” said Judge Andrew Macrae, before delivering his sentence on the 66-year-old Hui and 63-year-old Kwok. Kwok’s top aide Thomas Chan and ex-stock-exchange official Francis Kwan were also sentenced to six and five years respectively. His brother Raymond Kwok was acquitted of all charges. \[[_SCMP_](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1668154/live-thomas-kwok-jailed-five-years "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3645185/thomas-kwok-rafael-hui-corruption-sun-hung-kai/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3645185/thomas-kwok-rafael-hui-corruption-sun-hung-kai/"},"headline":"Billionaire Hong Kong Tycoon and Former Official Jailed for Corruption","datePublished":"2014-12-23T05:46:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:05:30.297Z","description":"Case seen as a victory for transparency in China's freewheeling financial hub","url":"https://time.com/3645185/thomas-kwok-rafael-hui-corruption-sun-hung-kai/","keywords":["Hong Kong","Hong Kong topic","corruption","trial","justice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3607c0301d6d4de0/6987709455a8594f49a84f1b/ap433408079322.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Per Liljas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/per-liljas/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3607c0301d6d4de0/6987709455a8594f49a84f1b/ap433408079322.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"AP433408079322","caption":"In this photo taken through a tinted glass, former Hong Kong Chief Secretary Rafael Hui, right, is escorted by a staff member from Hong Kong Correctional Services inside a van outside the High Court in Hong Kong on Dec. 19, 2014","creditText":"Vincent Yu—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/hong-kong/","name":"Hong Kong"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3645185/thomas-kwok-rafael-hui-corruption-sun-hung-kai/","name":"Billionaire Hong Kong Tycoon and Former Official Jailed for Corruption"}}]}] ```