An Auckland man charged by the Serious Fraud Office of trying to bribe an Auckland Council employee has been found not guilty.
Johnson Yuejun Li, 48, was charged with one count of corruption and bribery of an official. The SFO alleged he offered a $1000 cash bribe with the intention to influence an Auckland Council planner in November 2013 when he was seeking consent for an application to subdivide a Hillsborough property.
The matter was referred to the SFO.
The council employee promptly reported the alleged attempted bribe in accordance with the council's protocol and although the sum involved was not overly significant, the offence of attempted bribery was the primary concern, the SFO said in March.
"The staff member involved in this case did absolutely the right thing in reporting this to her manager, who took immediate action and followed all the appropriate steps," said Auckland Council chief operating officer Dean Kimpton.