NEW YORK – A US judge has tightened security at the luxury Manhattan apartment where a Macau businessman convicted of bribing United Nations diplomats will likely reside under 24-hour guard until sentencing.
US District Judge Vernon S. Broderick rejected a request by prosecutors to immediately imprison 69-year-old Ng Lap Seng after his conviction over a week ago on bribery and money laundering charges. The charges carry a potential prison term lasting decades, though his actual sentence would be far less.
“It is literally difficult to imagine a defendant with a greater incentive to flee,” said Assistant US Attorney Daniel Richenthal.
Macau businessman Ng Lap Seng (center) leaves federal court in Manhattan, New York City, late last month. – AP
