HK ex-leader Tsang charged with graft
Hong Kong's former leader Donald Tsang, who ended his term in disgrace after accepting favours from tycoons, appeared in court yesterday charged with misconduct in the latest high-profile corruption case to hit the city.
Tsang, 70, has been under investigation by the city's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) since he left office in June 2012.
He was released at magistrates' court on cash bail of HK$100,000 ($13,000) and will appear again on November 13.
Grim-faced and wearing a trademark bow-tie, Tsang spoke only to confirm he understood the two misconduct charges.
He held the leadership post of chief executive for seven years from 2005 and would become the highest-ranking Hong Kong official to face a corruption trial.
Speaking outside court, he insisted his "conscience is clear".
"I have every confidence that the court will exonerate me at the end of its proceedings," he said. His wife Selina who accompanied him said she was "deeply disheartened" by the case.
"We longed for peace and tranquillity in retirement... instead we now find ourselves dragged into a whirlpool," she said.
The charges relate to Tsang's failure to disclose his plans to lease a luxury flat in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.
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