US appeal court upholds conviction of ex-Hong Kong minister Patrick Ho

Former home affairs secretary was released earlier this year after finishing his US sentence for bribery and money laundering

Lawyers for Ho insisted that payments to presidents of Chad and Uganda were legitimate charitable donations

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Patrick Ho Chi-ping after his return to Hong Kong in June 2020. File photo: May Tse

Published: 10:01am, 30 Dec 2020Updated: 10:38am, 30 Dec 2020

The conviction of former Hong Kong minister Patrick Ho Chi-ping for paying bribes to the presidents of Chad and Uganda in a United Nations-linked conspiracy was upheld Tuesday by an appeal court in New York.

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled in the case of Ho, finding he was properly convicted by a jury in December 2018 of paying bribes to the African presidents.

Ho’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Ho, 70, who is also an ophthalmologist and was once Hong Kong’s home affairs secretary, was sentenced last year to three years in prison by US District Judge Loretta Preska, who called Ho’s works of charity “extraordinary” and said he deserved leniency.

Ho was deported from the United States earlier this year after his release. He had been in custody since November 2017 after being denied bail following his arrest.

Preska noted that Ho restored sight for strangers, brought music to the Metropolitan Correction Centre and tutored inmates who then finished high school.