HONG KONG (Reuters) - Former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang was sent back to jail on Friday following the dismissal of a legal appeal against a misconduct in public office conviction, but he had his jail term cut from 20 months to 12 months.
The unanimous decision by the three judges at the Court of Appeal means that Tsang, previously released on bail after serving about two months, would have to return to jail.
Upon hearing the decision, Tsang's lawyer immediately indicated he intended to file an appeal and attempted to apply for bail, but the judge advised him to read the judgement before doing anything.
Tsang, Hong Kong's second leader since the city's 1997 handover from British to Chinese rule, was the territory's most senior official to fall foul of the law when he was jailed last February on a charge of misconduct in public office for failing to declare certain dealings with a business tycoon.
The sentence brought an ignominious end to what had been a long and stellar career for Tsang.
(Reporting by Venus Wu; Editing by James Pomfret and Sam Holmes)