ICAC's advantage is its dedicated staff, says ICAC chief
2006-10-28
ICAC Commissioner Raymond Wong Hung-chiu in his web column says during his three-year service with the Commission, he is most impressed by the devotion and perseverance of the colleagues in discharging their anti-corruption duties.
In the latest Commissioner Online column uploaded onto the ICAC's website, Mr Wong says the ICAC has in recent years met with rising public expectations and challenges in its law enforcement work.
In his article entitled "ICAC's advantage is our dedicated staff", the Commissioner notes that in some individual court cases, the courts held different views in interpreting the laws or raised concerns about the long standing practices and procedures ado pted by law enforcement agencies.
"Whilst fully respecting rulings handed down by the courts, we have responded positively and taken them as an opportunity for yet another review of our internal operational practices and procedures," he says.
"At the same time, we have strengthened staff training to enhance our management and law enforcement capability, to ensure that we move ahead of times."
Citing a recent case in which the ICAC has successfully recovered suspected corrupt proceeds of over $100 million, Mr Wong says the case has sent a strong and clear message to the corrupt that the ICAC will spare no effort in hunting them down.
"The readiness of members of the public to testify against criminals, and the meticulous work of our investigators have contributed to a high conviction rate. The case-based rate reached a record of 88 per cent so far this year," he adds.
Investigation work aside, the Commissioner says there has been growing demand from the community for ICAC's corruption prevention and preventive education services in recent years.
He points out that ICAC's "corruption prevention experts" in the Corruption Prevention Department have been proactively approached by organizations for advice to improve their system control.
In regard to the preventive education work, Mr Wong notes that the Community Relations Department has received overwhelming public support as it reaches out to various strata of the community.
He calls on the community to continue to support the anti-corruption work of the ICAC in the years to come.
"Rapid changes in society continuously bring about new challenges. We must keep ourselves on our toes and continue to sharpen our edges to sustain the effectiveness of our anti-corruption work and to uphold a corruption-free and stable society," he says.
The new Commission Online article has been posted onto the ICAC website ( http://www.icac.org.hk ) for public access.
In the latest Commissioner Online column uploaded onto the ICAC's website, Mr Wong says the ICAC has in recent years met with rising public expectations and challenges in its law enforcement work.
In his article entitled "ICAC's advantage is our dedicated staff", the Commissioner notes that in some individual court cases, the courts held different views in interpreting the laws or raised concerns about the long standing practices and procedures ado pted by law enforcement agencies.
"Whilst fully respecting rulings handed down by the courts, we have responded positively and taken them as an opportunity for yet another review of our internal operational practices and procedures," he says.
"At the same time, we have strengthened staff training to enhance our management and law enforcement capability, to ensure that we move ahead of times."
Citing a recent case in which the ICAC has successfully recovered suspected corrupt proceeds of over $100 million, Mr Wong says the case has sent a strong and clear message to the corrupt that the ICAC will spare no effort in hunting them down.
"The readiness of members of the public to testify against criminals, and the meticulous work of our investigators have contributed to a high conviction rate. The case-based rate reached a record of 88 per cent so far this year," he adds.
Investigation work aside, the Commissioner says there has been growing demand from the community for ICAC's corruption prevention and preventive education services in recent years.
He points out that ICAC's "corruption prevention experts" in the Corruption Prevention Department have been proactively approached by organizations for advice to improve their system control.
In regard to the preventive education work, Mr Wong notes that the Community Relations Department has received overwhelming public support as it reaches out to various strata of the community.
He calls on the community to continue to support the anti-corruption work of the ICAC in the years to come.
"Rapid changes in society continuously bring about new challenges. We must keep ourselves on our toes and continue to sharpen our edges to sustain the effectiveness of our anti-corruption work and to uphold a corruption-free and stable society," he says.
The new Commission Online article has been posted onto the ICAC website ( http://www.icac.org.hk ) for public access.