Hong Kong businessman seeks leniency in US bribery case
NEW YORK (AP) — Defense attorneys urged a U.S. gather Tuesday to give leniency to a outstanding Hong Kong businessman who was build criminal final year of bribing the presidents of two African nations.
Dr. Chi Ping Patrick Ho, who is because well an ophthalmologist and prior house affairs secretary at Hong Kong, was convicted at December of paying bribes to the presidents of Chad and Uganda at a order to acquire grease rights because a conglomerate known because CEFC China Energy. Prosecutors said he used his locality running that company's count tank to queue the pockets of government officials because the grease and gas corporation sought to amplify its affair almost the world.
Ho was tried at New York though a amount of relevant meetings and string transfers related to the payments occurred at Manhattan. The instance attracted international media attention and involved few prior presidents of the United Nations mutual Assembly.
Ho's defense team did no argument the payments, including $2 million secreted at gift boxes delivered to the principal of Chad at 2014, besides insisted the transactions were charitable donations.
His lawyers filed gymnasium papers asking U.S. area gather Loretta Preska to free him above time served because charges including conspiracy, money laundering and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In a lengthy gymnasium filing, defense attorneys wrote that Ho "deeply regrets" his actions and will cost the relief of his life atoning because crimes that amounted to "a small and uncharacteristic divide of his expect and successful life."
They eminent Ho has been after bars because his November 2017 arrest and can cost more time at immigration custody awaiting deportation.
During that time, the defense said, Ho has tutored few colleague inmates at the Metropolitan Correctional middle and taught classes "ranging from geography to private finance."
"Many individuals at Patrick's people used to eat reacted with bitterness and self-pity," defense lawyer Edward Kim wrote at the gymnasium filing. "But it is ingrained at Patrick to serve no affair the circumstances. at good ripen and at bad, he considers it his obligation to leverage his talents and the good luck he has enjoyed at his life to better the lives of those almost him."
The defense because well filed 149 letters from Ho's family, friends, patients and colleague inmates.
Federal prosecutors are expected to consider at above the defense application next week.
Ho is scheduled to exist sentenced March 25.
