Cream puff restaurateur avoids jail over lies to corruption watchdog

Valentine Yee, the owner of the defunct Sydney restaurant Emperor's Garden, has avoided jail after admitting to lying to the ICAC in 2019. Yee, 52, pleaded guilty to two counts of giving false or misleading evidence at a public inquiry. The ICAC was investigating a $100,000 donation to NSW Labor from billionaire developer Huang Xiangmo.

Initially, Yee claimed he had donated $5,000 to Labor using "lucky money," and later admitted to signing a false declaration to obscure the donation's origin. The maximum penalty for giving false or misleading evidence to ICAC is five years imprisonment, but Judge John Sfinas sentenced Yee to a two-year community corrections order.

The judge noted Yee's remorse, lack of criminal history, and the severity of lying to ICAC. Yee's parents own and operate the famed Emperor's Garden in Chinatown, which closed earlier this month. Jonathan Yee, Valentine's brother, has also been charged with a series of offences, while Yee's mother May Ho Yee has been charged with giving false or misleading evidence to ICAC.