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Jan. 3, 2017 / 7:15 AM

Ex-Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang pleads not guilty to corruption charges

Former chief executive of Hong Kong Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and his wife Selina arrive at the High Court in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday. Tsang faces three charges -- one count of a chief executive accepting an advantage and two counts of misconduct in public office for allegedly failing to disclose his plan to rent a three-story penthouse in Shenzhen, China between 2010 and 2012 to various bodies, including the Executive Council, when he was Hong Kong's Chief Executive. Photo by Jerome Favre/European Pressphoto Agency

Former chief executive of Hong Kong Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and his wife Selina arrive at the High Court in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday. Tsang faces three charges -- one count of a chief executive accepting an advantage and two counts of misconduct in public office for allegedly failing to disclose his plan to rent a three-story penthouse in Shenzhen, China between 2010 and 2012 to various bodies, including the Executive Council, when he was Hong Kong's Chief Executive. Photo by Jerome Favre/European Pressphoto Agency

HONG KONG, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Donald Tsang, Hong Kong's chief executive from 2005 until 2012, has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges related to a luxury apartment in China.

Tsang, 72, pleaded not guilty to three charges of bribery and misconduct on Tuesday. Prosecutors allege Tsang did not declare numerous conflicts of interest, including renting a three-story luxury apartment in Shenzhen from businessman Bill Wong Cho-bau, a shareholder of the Wave Media broadcast company.

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Prosecutors allege Tsang approved the company's license applications. The apartment was later redecorated for free, while Tsang later nominated the apartment's interior designer, Barrie Ho Chow-lai, for an honor, prosecutors said.

Tsang is the highest-ranking official to ever face a criminal trial in Hong Kong history. The trial will be determined by a panel of nine jurors.

Tsang faces up to 21 years in prison, as each charge carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years. He was initially popular when taking office, promising a "clean and efficient" tenure, but his popularity plummeted amid corruption allegations in his last years in office.

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