<!–enpproperty 2011-07-26 08:05:21.0Guo JiaxueTVB’s Chan a victim of fraud, says his lawyer1159929Top News2@hk/enpproperty–>
The defense lawyer for TVB General Manager Stephen Chan has claimed Chan, accused of corruption and fraud, is also one of the victims of the case.
Lawyer Joseph Tse Wah-yuen spent all Monday afternoon arguing Chan’s innocence.
The prosecution spent the morning arguing that Chan is guilty of three charges, including conspiracy with an agent to accept an advantage and conspiracy to defraud.
Prosecutor Eric Kwok Tung-ming stated that Chan conspired with the second defendant Edthancy Tseng Pei-kun to cheat five TVB actresses out of legitimate personal appearance fees, persuading them to attend a commercial event for free.
Tse, for the defense, analyzed a sequence of events and drew the opposite conclusion that Chan was a victim of fraud.
The five actresses Chan invited to attend the book-signing event were not listed in the draft contracts between Tseng’s company and the sponsors at first.
But the company amended the contracts later, after learning from Chan whom he actually had invited.
Chan didn’t invite the actresses to fulfill the two contracts. He was “used” by the company in the interest of its own profit, Tse stated.
“These facts and the sequence can overturn the prosecution’s theory,” he added.
As for the 2009 countdown to new year event hosted by Chan, he argued no guilt attaches to his client in two other charges against him.
The prosecution claimed Chan was guilty as long as he received payment for hosting the event behind TVB’s back.
Tse, however, argued that Chan believed the HK$112,000 he received from Tseng’s company was income from Chan’s new book.
He claimed it was “only inference”, citing the mistake made by staff of Tseng’s company that he gave Chan the check together with a delivery note stating the check was issued as book income.
To say the least, Tse argued, even if Chan were aware the payment was made for his performance, Chan didn’t receive the money as an “agent” of TVB.
Chan participated in the countdown show in his private capacity, and was “no different from the other artists” who appeared at that time, Tse said.
Tse also challenged the weight the prosecution placed on testimony by TVB’s Group General Manager Mark Lee Po-on.
He said Lee’s words were misleading, since he knew little about Chan’s standing as a celebrity, or details of the countdown show.
guojiaxue@chinadailyhk.com
China Daily
(HK Edition 07/26/2011 page1)