Thomas Kwok#Arrest and conviction

{{family name hatnote|Kwok|Thomas Kwok|Kwok Ping kwong|lang=Hong Kong}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong

| native_name = {{nobold|{{lang|zh|郭炳江}}}}

| image = Kwong Siu Hing & Thomas Kwok.jpg

| caption = Kwok (right) and Timothy Fok (left) flanking Kwok's mother Kwong Siu-hing in July 2008

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|10|6}}

| birth_place = Portuguese Macau

| education = London Business School
Imperial College

| occupation = Former joint-chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties

| spouse =

| parents = Kwok Tak Seng (father)
Kwong Siu-hing (mother)

| relations = Walter Kwok (brother)
Raymond Kwok (brother)

| children = Adam Kwok

| website =

| module = {{br list | Criminal information | {{Infobox criminal

|child = yes

|conviction = Conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office{{cite news|title=Hong Kong property tycoon and former official jailed for corruption|date= 23 December 2014|work=The Guardian| url=https://hongkongfp.com/2019/03/21/hong-kong-tycoon-thomas-kwok-released-jail-serving-bribery-sentence/}}

|criminal_penalty = Completed 5 year sentence

|conviction_status = {{ubl|Was incarcerated at the Stanley Prison|Released on 21 March 2019}}

}}

Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong ({{zh|c=郭炳江|cy=Gwok Bínggōng|p=Guō Bǐngjiāng}}; born October 6, 1951) is a Hong Kong billionaire, and the former joint chairman and managing director (with his brother Raymond Kwok) of Sun Hung Kai Properties, the largest property developer in Hong Kong.[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904060604576572084156856112 Sun Hung Kai Profit Jumps; Chairwoman to Retire] Wall Street Journal, by Polly Lui. 16 September 2011. He received a five-year prison sentence for bribery in 2014.{{cite web|title=Forbes profile:Thomas & Raymond Kwok|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-raymond-kwok/|website=Forbes|accessdate=26 March 2018}}

Biography

Thomas is the second son of Kwok Tak Seng, the founder of SHK Properties, and his wife Kwong Siu-hing. Together with brothers Walter and Raymond, they inherited Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong's largest real estate developer in 1990, following their father's death.[https://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-raymond-kwok/ "Thomas and Raymond Kwok"], Forbes. Accessed 21 January 2016. The Kwok brothers are the third wealthiest people in Hong Kong and the Greater China Region, just after Li Ka-shing and Lee Shau Kee. Their combined wealth is estimated to be US$16.5 billion in Forbes' 2018 list of billionaires.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-raymond-kwok/|title=Thomas & Raymond Kwok|author=|date=|website=forbes.com|accessdate=26 March 2018}} According to Forbes, the Kwok family as a whole is the third-richest family in Asia, with a net worth of US$40.4 billion.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/kwok/|title=Kwok family|author=|date=|website=forbes.com|accessdate=26 March 2018}}

Kwok received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Imperial College London, University of London, followed by an MBA from the London Business School.{{cite web|url=http://www.info.gov.hk/hkma/eng/hkma/advisory/thomas_b.htm|title=Profile of Thomas Kwok|author=|date=|website=info.gov.hk|accessdate=26 March 2018}}

Arrest and conviction

Thomas and Raymond Kwok were arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption on bribery charges in March 2012.{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17552873 | work=BBC News | title=Kwok brothers arrested in Hong Kong on bribery charges | date=29 March 2012}}{{cite news| url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/29/world/asia/hong-kong-corruption/index.html?hpt=ias_c1 | work=CNN | title=Tycoon brothers arrested in Hong Kong corruption probe | date=29 March 2012}} They were accused of bribing Rafael Hui, the former Chief Secretary for Administration from 2005 to 2007, to be their "eyes and ears in government" in a case said to highlight "the cozy relationship between the city's powerful developers and government".{{cite news|last1=Lee|first1=Yimou|last2=Ko|first2=Lizzie|title=Hong Kong former official, property tycoon guilty in graft case|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/sunhungkai-trial-idINKBN0JX0JQ20141219|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208221729/http://in.reuters.com/article/sunhungkai-trial-idINKBN0JX0JQ20141219|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 December 2015|work=Reuters|date=19 December 2014}}

In December 2014, Thomas Kwok was convicted of "conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office," while his brother Raymond was cleared of all charges. Thomas was sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of $500,000. Rafael Hui, Sun Hung Kai executive Thomas Chan, and businessman Francis Kwan were also jailed.{{cite news|last1=Law|first1=Stuart|title=Rafael Hui jailed for seven-and-a-half years; Thomas Kwok locked up for five years|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1668154/live-thomas-kwok-jailed-five-years|accessdate=23 December 2014|work=South China Morning Post|date=23 December 2014}} After the verdict was announced, Kwok stated his immediate resignation as chairman, managing director, and executive director of Sun Hung Kai, and said he would appeal the conviction. His appeals to the Court of Appeal and Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal were dismissed.{{cite web|url=http://legalref.judiciary.hk/lrs/common/ju/ju_frame.jsp?DIS=109907&currpage=T|title=Judgment|author=|date=|website=legalref.judiciary.hk|accessdate=26 March 2018}} Kwok, who had been granted bail pending appeal to the Court of Final Appeal, was returned to prison in June 2017.{{cite web|url=http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1336014-20170614.htm?spTabChangeable=0|title=Appeals of Thomas Kwok, Rafael Hui rejected - RTHK|author=|date=|website=rthk.hk|accessdate=26 March 2018}} As a result of this conviction, the Silver Bauhinia Star conferred on him by the Hong Kong Government in 2007 was revoked in March 2018.{{cite news|url=https://hk.news.ahttps://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/03/02/first-hong-kong-govt-revokes-top-award-ex-official-rafael-hui-graft-convictions/|title=In a first for Hong Kong, gov't revokes top award from ex-official Rafael Hui over graft convictions|date=3 March 2018|newspaper=Hong Kong Free Press|last=Cheng|first=Kris|access-date=4 March 2018}}

Religion

Kwok is a Christian. The Noah's Ark project on Ma Wan reflects Kwok's evangelical Christian faith. During the 1990s, he set up a church on the 75th-floor pyramid atrium atop Sun Hung Kai's Central Plaza office complex.[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123966767906515339 Hong Kong Christens an Ark of Biblical Proportions] The A-HED. By JONATHAN CHENG. Wall Street Journal. APRIL 14, 2009.