They took a detour down bribery lane and are now facing six months in jail. Their not-so-bright idea? Collecting around HK$78,000 ($10,000) in exchange for granting some folks discounted tickets—benefits usually reserved for airline employees.
Lau Ching-man, previously a purser at the airline, admitted his role in this scheme on September 7, 2023. He's looking at a six-month stint in jail. His co-conspirators, Lee Chung-fai, and Wong Oi-ting, didn't fare much better, with both set for a five-month stay.
Here's the scoop: Lau had this "arrangement" with a Vietnamese fashion designer between 2018 and 2019. The deal? Lau would offer discounted tickets from Cathay Pacific's Companion Travel Scheme. Normally, this scheme is a sweet deal that lets employees nominate a friend or family member for a ticket discount. But making money off of it? That's a no-no.
But Lau wanted to spread the (ill-gotten) wealth. He looped in Lee and Wong, and they nominated two of the fashion designer's friends. These two walked away with HK$39,000 ($5,000) and HK$27,000 ($3,500) each for their part. By pulling strings, the fashion designer managed to snag 20 tickets at a steal, saving him about HK$330,000 ($42,000).
Altogether, this whole charade set Cathay Pacific back by roughly HK$860,000 ($110,000) because of 49 tickets sold at these "special" rates.
The judge wasn't amused. On top of the jail time, the trio has to cough up HK$90,000 ($12,000) to the airline. That's their dodgy earnings gone, just like that!
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