HONG KONG’S former Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen was sentenced to 20 months in prison in the special administrative region yesterday for misconduct while in office.

    He was sent to prison immediately.

    His wife Selina Tsang told journalists that she would appeal.

    Justice Andrew Chan of Hong Kong’s High Court said he had set a starting point of 30 months in prison, but gave a reduction of 10 months because of Tsang’s past good character and service to Hong Kong, saying “it was indisputable that the defendant has dedicated himself to public service in the past 40-odd years.”

    Tsang was found guilty Friday of a charge of misconduct for failing to declare a conflict of interest when he approved applications for a radio broadcasting license by the broadcasting company Wave Media.

    He had faced two charges of misconduct and one charge of bribery. The nine jurors entered a majority verdict Friday of one charge of misconduct.

    The jury could not reach a decision on whether Tsang was guilty of accepting as an advantage the renovation of a three-story flat in Shenzhen that he had rented. The house is owned by Wave Media’s main investor’s company. The judge has tentatively scheduled the proceeding for September, but a date has yet to be fixed.

    Tsang was cleared of another charge of misconduct, accusing him of failing to declare that he hired interior designer Ho Chow-lai to work on the flat when he recommended to the relevant government committee that Ho should receive an honor.

    Tsang, born in 1944, was the second chief executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012, after Tung Chee-hwa resigned.

    Before becoming chief secretary in 2001, Tsang was financial secretary in the HKSAR Government. During his six-year tenure as financial secretary, Tsang steered Hong Kong through the Asian financial crisis that swept across the region in 1997 and 1998. He later masterminded rigorous reforms to enhance the local financial infrastructure.

    Tsang was educated in Hong Kong, holding a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University.(Xinhua)