First of all, I wish to reiterate that the ICAC has every respect for press freedom, and all our investigations are conducted in strict accordance with the law.

Second, in conducting this investigation and searches, the ICAC has considered very carefully the need to strike a balance between the freedom of the press and the administration of justice.

The ICAC is not empowered to conduct searches without authorisation from the court. In this case particular, we obtained search warrants from the High Court, and the High Court Judges are satisfied that the conditions for granting the warrants under the I nterpretation and General Clauses Ordinance are fulfilled.

I hope the public will understand that this case involves very serious alleged offences, including perverting public justice and violation of the Witness Protection Ordinance. There is no question of over-reacting to the situation. We act completely acc ording to the law.

I also wish to make it clear that while the case arose from matters referred to us by the Department of Justice, the ICAC has not been instructed by anyone to investigate the case. We conduct our investigations independently.

Since the Department of Justice is responsible for prosecution matters, we would submit a file of evidence to the department for advice on prosecutions.