Corruption situation remains under control with more graft complaints against private sector
2008-2-22
While the corruption situation remains well under control, the ICAC has received more graft complaints concerning the private sector, reflecting a growing determination to wipe out corruption in the commercial as well as the public fields, said ICAC Commi ssioner Mr Timothy Tong Hin-ming.
Reviewing ICAC’s work in the past year, Mr Tong wrote in an article that graft busters continued to demonstrate a high degree of professionalism in discharging their duties and the case-based conviction rate stood at 85%.
In 2007, the Commission received a total of 3,600 corruption reports, excluding election-related complaints, representing a slight increase of eight per cent compared to 2006.
Of all the graft complaints made to the agency, 2,376 cases or 66 % were related to the private sector. The figure also represented a 17% rise compared with the year before.
A majority of these reports or 972 complaints were connected with building management problems, mostly pertaining to the operation of the owners’ corporations and building renovations projects.
Last year, the catering and entertainment services attracted 188 complaints. Most allegations involved corrupt dealings between purchasing staff of the catering establishments and food suppliers.
Meanwhile, the ICAC remained concerned about the incidents of listed companies with senior staff members, including corporate chairmen, company directors and professional advisers being involved in corruption-facilitated commercial frauds.
In 2007, 13 cases involving listed companies were taken to the courts. Three of the prosecutions were completed and all resulted in convictions.
During the year, a comprehensive integrity programme was launched to enhance ethical governance amongst listed company directors and corporate executives.
Mr Tong noted that whilst the number of reports concerning government departments fell by nine per cent to 975, there were incidences of abuse of office, lack of diligence in supervision, and undesirable association with contractors and suppliers involvin g some civil servants.
In 2007, on the recommendation of the Operations Review Committee, 123 government servants were referred to government departments for consideration of disciplinary or administrative action –'96 a decrease of 18 per cent compared to 2006.
Most of these cases concerned neglect of duty, misuse of authority and acceptance of unauthorised loans and gifts.
To sustain a culture of probity in the civil service, the ICAC and the Civil Service Bureau jointly launched the Ethical Leadership Programme in 2007.
“Under the programme, a network comprising 150 Ethics Officers from about 80 bureaux and departments is taking forward various integrity programmes to strengthen corruption prevention and staff discipline,” he said.
According to an opinion survey conducted by an independent research company in late 2007, nearly 99 per cent of respondents expressed support for the Commission, while about 74 per cent rated ICAC’s anti-corruption work as highly effective or effective –'96 the highest percentage figure recorded in the past decade.
The survey also confirmed that the community as a whole would not tolerate corruption, whilst a growing number of respondents favour strengthened efforts targeted specifically at business corruption.
Mr Tong also noted that the ICAC would assign more resources to areas most vulnerable to corruption risks, especially areas which have a direct impact on people’s livelihood, such as the building management sector.
A territory wide programme will be launched later this year to promote accountable and clean building management.
Meanwhile, the ICAC and the Guangdong Provincial People’s Procuratorate jointly conducted extensive research to produce a corruption prevention guide for small and medium sized enterprises with cross boundary operations.
Mr Tong also anticipated closer cooperation with the Mainland’s anti- corruption authorities in the near future.
Mr Tong’s article has been posted onto the ICAC website ( http://www.icac.org.hk ) under the “Commissioner Online” column for public access.
Reviewing ICAC’s work in the past year, Mr Tong wrote in an article that graft busters continued to demonstrate a high degree of professionalism in discharging their duties and the case-based conviction rate stood at 85%.
In 2007, the Commission received a total of 3,600 corruption reports, excluding election-related complaints, representing a slight increase of eight per cent compared to 2006.
Of all the graft complaints made to the agency, 2,376 cases or 66 % were related to the private sector. The figure also represented a 17% rise compared with the year before.
A majority of these reports or 972 complaints were connected with building management problems, mostly pertaining to the operation of the owners’ corporations and building renovations projects.
Last year, the catering and entertainment services attracted 188 complaints. Most allegations involved corrupt dealings between purchasing staff of the catering establishments and food suppliers.
Meanwhile, the ICAC remained concerned about the incidents of listed companies with senior staff members, including corporate chairmen, company directors and professional advisers being involved in corruption-facilitated commercial frauds.
In 2007, 13 cases involving listed companies were taken to the courts. Three of the prosecutions were completed and all resulted in convictions.
During the year, a comprehensive integrity programme was launched to enhance ethical governance amongst listed company directors and corporate executives.
Mr Tong noted that whilst the number of reports concerning government departments fell by nine per cent to 975, there were incidences of abuse of office, lack of diligence in supervision, and undesirable association with contractors and suppliers involvin g some civil servants.
In 2007, on the recommendation of the Operations Review Committee, 123 government servants were referred to government departments for consideration of disciplinary or administrative action –'96 a decrease of 18 per cent compared to 2006.
Most of these cases concerned neglect of duty, misuse of authority and acceptance of unauthorised loans and gifts.
To sustain a culture of probity in the civil service, the ICAC and the Civil Service Bureau jointly launched the Ethical Leadership Programme in 2007.
“Under the programme, a network comprising 150 Ethics Officers from about 80 bureaux and departments is taking forward various integrity programmes to strengthen corruption prevention and staff discipline,” he said.
According to an opinion survey conducted by an independent research company in late 2007, nearly 99 per cent of respondents expressed support for the Commission, while about 74 per cent rated ICAC’s anti-corruption work as highly effective or effective –'96 the highest percentage figure recorded in the past decade.
The survey also confirmed that the community as a whole would not tolerate corruption, whilst a growing number of respondents favour strengthened efforts targeted specifically at business corruption.
Mr Tong also noted that the ICAC would assign more resources to areas most vulnerable to corruption risks, especially areas which have a direct impact on people’s livelihood, such as the building management sector.
A territory wide programme will be launched later this year to promote accountable and clean building management.
Meanwhile, the ICAC and the Guangdong Provincial People’s Procuratorate jointly conducted extensive research to produce a corruption prevention guide for small and medium sized enterprises with cross boundary operations.
Mr Tong also anticipated closer cooperation with the Mainland’s anti- corruption authorities in the near future.
Mr Tong’s article has been posted onto the ICAC website ( http://www.icac.org.hk ) under the “Commissioner Online” column for public access.