Hong Kong lawyer cleared of perverting course of justice over allegation he suggested HK$38 million settlement to help businesswoman evade justice
- Judge finds prosecution failed to reach required standard of proof on two charges against Kevin Bowers
- Bowers says ‘unwise words’ in negotiations designed to 'bluff' opposing lawyer, where parties were ‘throwing out ideas’
A lawyer accused of offering to let a businesswoman escape criminal justice if she agreed to pay a HK$38 million (US$4.8 million) settlement almost a decade ago has been cleared of all charges by a court.
Kevin Bowers, then a partner of Reed Smith Richard Butler, was acquitted of two charges of perverting the course of justice, after District Judge David Dufton found on Monday the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The case stemmed from criminal proceedings faced by Kelly Cheng Kit-yin, former executive director of China Rich Holdings, a company that operated golf resorts in mainland China.
The justice department said Bowers, now a consultant for Tanner De Witt Solicitors, told lawyers for China Rich and Cheng, on two occasions in 2010, he could ensure a key witness in Cheng’s criminal trial would “stay out of jurisdiction” if they agreed to pay up.
But Dufton ruled in favour of Bowers, as he found the prosecution witnesses gave inconsistent accounts of how the alleged offer came about.