Rafael Hui, former Hong Kong No. 2 official jailed over corruption, dies at 77

2026-02-02 - 03:57

Rafael Hui, a former Hong Kong No. 2 official who was jailed over corruption after he retired from the civil service, has died at the age of 77. Former chief secretary Rafael Hui arrives at the High Court in Hong Kong on May 8, 2014. Photo: Philippe Lopez/AFP. According to local media, he passed away at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital after losing his battle with an unspecified illness. Hui served as chief secretary from 2005 to 2007 alongside then-chief executive Donald Tsang, who was jailed in a separate graft case before the Court of Final Appeal quashed his conviction. After serving as chief secretary, Hui became a member of the Executive Council, the government’s advisory body, from 2007 to 2009. In 2012, Hui and two Sun Hung Kai Properties tycoons, Thomas and Raymond Kwok, were arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in a high-profile corruption case. The former chief secretary was once an adviser to the real estate conglomerate. Rafael Hui, then chief secretary, speaking at a Fight Crime Conference at Queen Elizabeth Stadium on November 25, 2006. Photo: GovHK. Following a months-long trial, Hui was jailed for seven and a half years in 2014 for pocketing almost HK$20 million. He was released in 2019 for good behaviour. During Hui’s time in public service, he held numerous other high-ranking positions. He was the city’s financial services secretary in the late 1990s and was credited with leading efforts to stabilise Hong Kong’s markets during the 1997 financial crisis. Prior to the Handover, he served as transport commissioner, and before that, he was seconded to the ICAC.