Judge rules ICAC must foot bill over surveillance action
Two people whose bribery trial was halted after a judge ruled graft-busters had wrongly carried out covert surveillance have been awarded costs against the government.
Deputy District Court Judge Julia Livesey granted the application by Yu Chi-wai and Ann Wong Tin-sum over objections from the government, which argued the case was dismissed because of a technicality.
Judge Livesey stopped proceedings against the two and co-defendants Shum Chiu and Wong Hung-ki in July, saying covert surveillance carried out by the Independent Commission Against Corruption was unconstitutional and deprived them of a fair trial.
The four were accused of offering $1.9 million in bribes to Housing Department officials to win government contracts.
Judge Livesey ruled that an anti-corruption officer had violated lawyer-client privilege when he taped a conversation between Mr Yu and lawyer Louis Fung at a restaurant in November 2002.
