ICAC: developer’s late-night visit to ex-worker

Meeting came on same day whistleblower was called to give evidence to watchdog.

Alex Wu. Picture: Toby Zerna

A Chinese property developer ­allegedly involved in illegal ­donations to the NSW Labor Party paid a late-night visit to the home of a former employee who is a key witness at a corruption inquiry and previously feared his former boss would hire someone to “hurt” him.

Alex Wu, managing director of Wu International, was revealed on Wednesday as having visited retired employee Steve Tong shortly before 9pm in Nov­ember last year.

Mr Wu, also known as Alex Wood, spoke to Mr Tong outside his Pennant Hills house in ­Sydney’s northwest in the dark after being driven there from his Chatswood headquarters by his chauffeur cousin, Yueran Zhan.

The visit occurred on the same day Mr Tong had received a summons to give private evidence to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption about ­allegedly “fake” donations used to cover up the true source of $100,000 cash handed to NSW Labor after a March 2015 fundraiser.

Mr Tong has emerged as a whistleblower in the donations scandal that has the NSW ALP in crisis, and has claimed the scalp of head office boss Kaila Murnain.

In ICAC evidence last week, Mr Tong said he had feared his then boss would “hire some scoundrel to hurt me” if he did not go along with a scheme to falsely use his name for a $5000 NSW Labor donation.

ICAC is investigating an ­alleged scheme — said to have ­included Mr Tong — in which “fake” individual $5000 donations were used to cover up $100,000 cash from Chinese property developer Huang ­Xiangmo. Political donations from property developers were, and remain, banned in NSW.

Mr Huang, banished from Australia in December as a security risk, is central to ICAC’s ­inquiry.

Mr Wu and his father, Bobby, the owner of Wu International, are in ICAC’s sights as well because of donations ­declared in Mr Tong’s name that he says he never gave.

Another Wu Inter­national donor, Mr Tong’s former ­immediate boss Leo Liao, ­committed suicide last year and left a note linking his death to the scandal.

The visit to Mr Tong’s home was revealed on Wednesday during ICAC evidence by Mr Zhan.

It emerged that Mr Zhan, also known as Kenny, was used as a go-between by Alex Wu in repeated efforts to contact Mr Tong, including a dozen phone calls over three days.

Mr Zhan also drove Mr Tong in September last year, using a company car, to meet NSW Labor MP Ernest Wong and vent his anger about being used as a “fake” donor.

ICAC chief commissioner Peter Hall QC accused Mr Zhan of “lying” to protect Mr Wu after he had claimed that calls and ­meetings with Mr Tong were to convey mid-autumn festival “greetings”.