Hong Kong Court Jails Retired Police Officer for Bookmaking and Money Laundering

The Hong Kong courts aren’t letting civil upheaval of historic proportions get in the way of their daily duties. A 72-year-old retired police officer has been sentenced to three years and nine months of jail time after pleading guilty to one count of illegal bookmaking and seven counts of money laundering.

The bookmaking business ran from 2007 to 2011 and laundered nearly $13 million. The operation provided betting on football and horseracing.

So Wing-Yui, the officer in question, ran the operation from a flat rented specifically for the purpose with the help of some family members. The former officer’s brother, nephew, brother-in-law, and previous subordinate were all found guilty of money laundering.

Wing-Wah, Wing-Yui’s brother, was sentenced to three years and one month in prison, as was his nephew, So Kwok-Chung. Wing-Yui’s brother-in-law, Lo Chi-Keung, will serve three and a half years, and fellow former officer Tsang Kwok-Wai received a sentence of two years and seven months.

Wing-Yui’s associates had lent him their bank accounts to assist with the money laundering. Wing-Yui claimed in a mitigation letter that he had established the ring to compensate for losses accrued from a severe gambling addiction. The judge rejected his explanation as insincere.