( dpa ) - The sick father of Hong Kong popstar Eason Chan has had an appeal against a six-year jail sentence for corruption rejected, a court report said Friday.
The Court of Appeal dismissed claims by the lawyer of Chan Kau-tai that the 62-year-old, who has hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver, stood a better chance of surviving a liver transplant if he was allowed to go home.
The court heard the former civil servant has been on waiting list for a transplant since 2003 and that his popstar son or a sibling may become a donor.
Chan was jailed in 2006 after being convicted of nine counts of accepting advantages while working as a chief buildings services engineer for the government.
Lawyer Andrew Macrae also argued the six-year sentence handed down in November 2006 was excessive, given that the most serious charge involving 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars (190,000 US dollars) had been dropped.
But a panel of judges rejected his argument saying they believed Chan to be in good hands at the secure unit of a local hospital and that the sentence was correct as each charge related to a different offence of accepting bribes.
Eason Chan, 34, shot to fame at the age 21 when he entered a talent show in Hong Kong. He is one of Canto-pop's best known stars and is affectionately known as King of the Karaoke.