Community Care Fund applicant charged by ICAC with bribery
2021-10-18
An applicant of the Community Care Fund (CCF) was today (October 18) charged by the ICAC with bribing staff members of the CCF Secretariat for assisting in his application.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint referred by the CCF Secretariat. Upon completion of the investigation, the ICAC sought legal advice from the Department of Justice, which advised charging the applicant with one count of bribery.
Yang Jigang, 62, faces one count of offering an advantage to an agent, contrary to Section 9(2) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. He was released on ICAC bail, pending his court appearance in the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday (October 20) for plea.
At the material time, the defendant was an applicant of the One-off Allowance for New Arrivals from Low-income Families Programme of the CCF.
The programme is administered by the CCF Secretariat under the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB). It provides a one-off $10,000 allowance to low income families to help them adapt and integrate into the community. Applications are handled by staff members of employment agencies engaged by the CCF Secretariat. Applicants are required to furnish their personal information and other relevant documentary proof. They will be asked by staff members of the CCF Secretariat to provide additional information by post or by fax if their applications do not contain complete information.
The charge alleges that between December 9 and 10, 2020, the defendant, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, offered an advantage of $500 in cash to staff members of the CCF Secretariat as an inducement to or reward for assisting in his application for the allowance under the programme.
ICAC enquiries revealed that the application form submitted by the defendant in October 2020 was found incomplete. When additional information was received in relation to his application, a banknote of $500 was found in an envelope addressed to the CCF Secretariat.
The HAB and the CCF Secretariat have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The ICAC reminds members of the public not to offer bribe to obtain public service. If fees and charges are required for a particular public service, the amount required and payment method would be made public. It is illegal for any applicant to offer extra “handling fee” or gift as a reward.
Apart from offering corruption prevention advice on various public funding schemes, the ICAC has produced a toolkit recommending scheme administrators to put in place corruption prevention measures to enhance transparency in the handling of applications for funding or subsidy. For example, they should disclose to applicants the approval criteria and documents and information required for application, with a view to preventing the applicants who are not familiar with the application procedures from bribing their staff in return for approving their applications.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint referred by the CCF Secretariat. Upon completion of the investigation, the ICAC sought legal advice from the Department of Justice, which advised charging the applicant with one count of bribery.
Yang Jigang, 62, faces one count of offering an advantage to an agent, contrary to Section 9(2) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. He was released on ICAC bail, pending his court appearance in the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday (October 20) for plea.
At the material time, the defendant was an applicant of the One-off Allowance for New Arrivals from Low-income Families Programme of the CCF.
The programme is administered by the CCF Secretariat under the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB). It provides a one-off $10,000 allowance to low income families to help them adapt and integrate into the community. Applications are handled by staff members of employment agencies engaged by the CCF Secretariat. Applicants are required to furnish their personal information and other relevant documentary proof. They will be asked by staff members of the CCF Secretariat to provide additional information by post or by fax if their applications do not contain complete information.
The charge alleges that between December 9 and 10, 2020, the defendant, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, offered an advantage of $500 in cash to staff members of the CCF Secretariat as an inducement to or reward for assisting in his application for the allowance under the programme.
ICAC enquiries revealed that the application form submitted by the defendant in October 2020 was found incomplete. When additional information was received in relation to his application, a banknote of $500 was found in an envelope addressed to the CCF Secretariat.
The HAB and the CCF Secretariat have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The ICAC reminds members of the public not to offer bribe to obtain public service. If fees and charges are required for a particular public service, the amount required and payment method would be made public. It is illegal for any applicant to offer extra “handling fee” or gift as a reward.
Apart from offering corruption prevention advice on various public funding schemes, the ICAC has produced a toolkit recommending scheme administrators to put in place corruption prevention measures to enhance transparency in the handling of applications for funding or subsidy. For example, they should disclose to applicants the approval criteria and documents and information required for application, with a view to preventing the applicants who are not familiar with the application procedures from bribing their staff in return for approving their applications.