TVB actresses to give evidence in trial (SCMP; paywall)
Five stars called as prosecution witnesses in station manager Stephen Chan's corruption and fraud case
Austin Chiu
May 25, 2011
Five TVB actresses will give evidence against the station's general manager, Stephen Chan Chi-wan, in his corruption and fraud trial.
Charmaine Sheh Sze-man, Tavia Yeung Yi, Sharon Chan Man-chi, Skye Chan Sin-yeung and Shirley Yeung would be called as prosecution witnesses, prosecutor Alain Sham Chung-ping said after a closed-door pre-trial review in the District Court.
The five actresses were named as victims in a charge stemming from the launch of a book written by Stephen Chan at the Olympian City shopping mall.
It is alleged that Stephen Chan, 51, and co-accused Tseng Pei-kun, 28, Chan's former assistant, conspired to defraud the five women by asking them to attend the book signing session free of charge. The two accused allegedly concealed from the five that organiser Idea Empire Advertising and Production Company - of which Tseng was a director - received HK$300,000 from a sponsor and deprived the five of their reward.
Stephen Chan, Tseng and Wilson Chan Wing-shuen, 63, the head of business development for TVB's marketing and sales division, face a total of five charges in relation to alleged bribery and fraud.
The trio were in court yesterday when lawyers dealt with facts that they could agree on. The three were released on HK$100,000 bail, on condition that they do not contact, interfere with or influence the witnesses in relation to the case.
Stephen Chan was represented by Joseph Tse Wah-yuen SC.
The trial is set to start on June 1. About 30 witnesses, including managerial staff at TVB and artists, will be called to testify.
Stephen Chan faces three charges of receiving HK$112,000 from Tseng to participate in a show entitled Be My Guest as part of a New Year's Eve countdown at Olympian City.
Tseng and Wilson Chan jointly face a charge of conspiring to defraud TVB of HK$550,000, arising from a HK$5.2 million contract between Melco Crown hotel in Macau and TVB between September and December 2009.
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