Chris Munce


Chris Munce is a highly successful Thoroughbred horse racing jockey, having won both the Melbourne Cup and the Cox Plate.
He was convicted in Hong Kong on 1 March 2007 of taking bribes in exchange for racing tips.

Overview

Originally a Queensland jockey, Munce shares stable jockey duties with Danny Beasley for Gai Waterhouse Racing. During his career Chris Munce has won thirty-five Group One conditions races including Australia's most prestigious races, the Melbourne Cup and the Cox Plate.

Tips scandal

According to The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, Munce was arrested by the ICAC, an anti-corruption police force, in July 2006 with $HK250,000 stuffed into his jeans pockets along with a sheet of paper containing notations allegedly relating to wagers on horse races he had tipped. The charges against him related to actions by Munce while he was racing in Hong Kong which claimed he provided tips to local businessman Andy Lau between December 2005 and May 2006.
Sentenced to thirty months in prison, lawyers for Chris Munce have stated that their client will appeal the verdict and apply for bail pending the results of an appeal hearing.
On 1 September 2007, Munce returned to Australia to serve the remainder of his sentence. The Hong Kong and Australian federal and New South Wales state governments ruled that Munce be detained in minimum-security prison in Sydney.
On 30 October 2008, Chris Munce walked free from Silverwater Jail after serving two years for his involvement in Hong Kong racing's tips-for-bets scandal.