HKU professor charged over HK$2.2m bribery linked to IT education contracts

An associate professor at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has been charged by the corruption watchdog for allegedly receiving HK$2.2 million (US$280,500) in bribes in return for awarding seven procurement contracts for information technology education services to a vendor.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Friday that it had prosecuted Gary Wong Ka-wai, 45, of the university’s Faculty of Education, with nine counts of conspiracy for a public servant to accept advantages.

Also facing charges was Huen Man-ho, 56, sole director and shareholder of two education service providers, Immersive Learning and Koding Kingdom.

The duo also faced two counts of fraud allegations, alongside Huen’s wife Joel Chu Wai-yi, 57, and his nephew Cheung Chun, 26.

The alleged offences took place between August 2023 and June 2026, when Wong served as the director of the university’s Centre for Information Technology in Education (CITE).

His duties included promoting the use of IT in education by utilising grants from funding bodies such as the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and the government’s Quality Education Fund, according to ICAC.

“The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquiries revealed that Wong and Huen had agreed that Wong would receive a reward of 10 to 50 per cent of the purchase order value upon awarding of the projects. The total value of the purchase orders exceeded HK$10 million,” it said.