ICAC Annual Report tabled at Legco
2000-6-21
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) continued to have the confidence of the community in its fight against corruption, Mr Fred Li Wah-ming, member of the Legislative Council and Advisory Committee on Corruption, said today (Wednesday).
Tabling the 1999 ICAC Annual Report at Legco, Mr Li said although the ICAC had received a record high of 3,561 corruption reports last year, this did not mean corruption had become more serious.
He said extensive media coverage of ICAC activities and successful investigations had enhanced the confidence of the community in the Commission ’ s work.
“ This was reflected by the fact that the proportion of complainants who were willing to identify themselves when making reports to the ICAC remained high at 68 per cent last year, ” Mr Li said.
He noted that the Operations Department had set up the Computer Forensic and IT Research Section last year and had provided related training to its investigators to strengthen the capability to tackle complicated corruption cases that involved advanced te chnology.
In the period under review, the Corruption Prevention Department completed 106 in-depth studies of public sector procedures with a view to plugging corruption loopholes while its Advisory Services Group provided corruption prevention services on 260 occas ions at the request of private organisations.
On the education front, the Community Relations Department joined hands with the Civil Service Bureau to launch a two-year Civil Service Integrity Programme to uphold the ethical standard of civil servants.
In the annual report, ICAC Commissioner Alan Lai Nin said the economic downturn continued to have an impact on the corruption scene, however, there was no resurgence of syndicated corruption in the civil service.
He said the Operations Department had submitted the 1998 ICAC Report on Corruption and Malpractices in the Civil Service to the Secretary for the Civil Service and all heads of department.
The report, which highlighted corruption trends and areas of concerns, could help promote greater awareness of the problem at the senior level within the civil service so that appropriate action could be taken.
Mr Lai said investigations into alleged civil servant corruption had revealed that some government employees did indirectly obtain advantages or were engaged in different kinds of malpractices.
Such abuses, though not so serious as to amount to a breach of the anti-corruption law, were as corrosive to a clean culture as hard corruption, he said.
“ As a standard bearer, we in the ICAC saw the need to redouble our efforts on tackling these grey areas. For managing staff integrity and sustaining a culture of probity were prerequisites of maintaining a clean public service, ” said Mr Lai.
Looking ahead, Mr Lai said the ICAC would further its leading role in combating corruption in the international community by hosting an International Symposium every two years. The first one is scheduled for November this year.
Tabling the 1999 ICAC Annual Report at Legco, Mr Li said although the ICAC had received a record high of 3,561 corruption reports last year, this did not mean corruption had become more serious.
He said extensive media coverage of ICAC activities and successful investigations had enhanced the confidence of the community in the Commission ’ s work.
“ This was reflected by the fact that the proportion of complainants who were willing to identify themselves when making reports to the ICAC remained high at 68 per cent last year, ” Mr Li said.
He noted that the Operations Department had set up the Computer Forensic and IT Research Section last year and had provided related training to its investigators to strengthen the capability to tackle complicated corruption cases that involved advanced te chnology.
In the period under review, the Corruption Prevention Department completed 106 in-depth studies of public sector procedures with a view to plugging corruption loopholes while its Advisory Services Group provided corruption prevention services on 260 occas ions at the request of private organisations.
On the education front, the Community Relations Department joined hands with the Civil Service Bureau to launch a two-year Civil Service Integrity Programme to uphold the ethical standard of civil servants.
In the annual report, ICAC Commissioner Alan Lai Nin said the economic downturn continued to have an impact on the corruption scene, however, there was no resurgence of syndicated corruption in the civil service.
He said the Operations Department had submitted the 1998 ICAC Report on Corruption and Malpractices in the Civil Service to the Secretary for the Civil Service and all heads of department.
The report, which highlighted corruption trends and areas of concerns, could help promote greater awareness of the problem at the senior level within the civil service so that appropriate action could be taken.
Mr Lai said investigations into alleged civil servant corruption had revealed that some government employees did indirectly obtain advantages or were engaged in different kinds of malpractices.
Such abuses, though not so serious as to amount to a breach of the anti-corruption law, were as corrosive to a clean culture as hard corruption, he said.
“ As a standard bearer, we in the ICAC saw the need to redouble our efforts on tackling these grey areas. For managing staff integrity and sustaining a culture of probity were prerequisites of maintaining a clean public service, ” said Mr Lai.
Looking ahead, Mr Lai said the ICAC would further its leading role in combating corruption in the international community by hosting an International Symposium every two years. The first one is scheduled for November this year.