Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Chris Munce, sentenced to 30 months' jail over a tips-for-bets scandal in Hong Kong last year, is due for release from Sydney's Silverwater prison next Thursday.Munce, 39, was sent to jail in the former British colony in March last year and was returned to Australia in September to serve the remainder of his sentence in a special unit at the prison.He was arrested by Hong Kong anti-corruption officials in July 2006 with $HK250,000 (about $A40,000) in his jeans pocket

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Chris Munce, sentenced to 30 months' jail over a tips-for-bets scandal in Hong Kong last year, is due for release from Sydney's Silverwater prison next Thursday.

Munce, 39, was sent to jail in the former British colony in March last year and was returned to Australia in September to serve the remainder of his sentence in a special unit at the prison.

He was arrested by Hong Kong anti-corruption officials in July 2006 with $HK250,000 (about $A40,000) in his jeans pocket along with a piece of paper with notations allegedly relating to bets on races in which he had tipped.

The acclaimed jockey was charged for handing out information on the horses he rode and their likelihood of winning in return for bets being placed on them.

His sentence sent shockwaves through Australian racing as, if his actions happened in Australia, he would have been dealt with by racing authorities, not the courts.

The father of three has ridden the winners of most of Australia's biggest races including the 1998 Melbourne Cup on Jezabeel and the 2004 Cox Plate on Savabeel.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club said a stewards' inquiry into the matter, opened on July 5, 2006, was adjourned after Munce's imprisonment.

"As Mr Munce was not available, the stewards' inquiry into this matter stood adjourned to a date and time to be fixed," it said in a statement.

"The stewards have now been advised of Mr Munce's availability from early November 2008.

"The stewards will reconvene their inquiry at 10am on Monday, 3 November 2008 at the Happy Valley Racecourse.