ICAC keeps corruption under control with quick response to public concerns
2012-7-4
The ICAC continued to keep corruption under control with effective law enforcement and quick response to issues of public concern, the latest ICAC Annual Report revealed.
Tabling the ICAC’s 2011 Annual Report at the Legislative Council today (Wednesday), member of the Legislative Council and the Advisory Committee on Corruption Mr Chan Kam-lam noted that the community continued to trust and support the Commission, which vigorously carried out its statutory anti-corruption duties.
In 2011, the total number of corruption complaints stood at 4,010, registering a 13 per cent rise than in 2010. Among the corruption complaints received, 77 per cent were pursuable and 74 per cent non-anonymous.
Mr Chan said while the complaints against government departments in 2011 increased by six per cent to 1,117, there was no sign of any resurgence of syndicated corruption.
However, he stressed that breaches of the common law offence of Misconduct in Public Office continued to be uncovered within the government sector.
“Corruption has manifested itself from straightforward quid pro quo bribery to conflict of interest situations and varying degrees of abuse of office for personal gain,” he added.
He said the ICAC would remain vigilant and would take necessary actions to prevent the situation from becoming a trend.
The report also noted that complaints against public bodies recorded a slight drop of one per cent from 231 to 229 as compared to 2010.
The number of complaints in the private sector increased from 2,247 in 2010 to 2,664 last year. Complaints relating to building management accounted for 44 per cent, with over 60 per cent of those pursuable cases involving the operation and management of owners’ corporations, the report noted.
In 2011, the ICAC received 608 complaints concerning suspected breaches of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance, of which 553 were pursuable. Seventy-nine per cent of those cases alleged hundreds of voters registering with false resident ial addresses for the 2011 District Council Election.
The Commission had swiftly set up a special task force within the Operations Department to look into those suspected vote-rigging cases and stepped up education efforts to promote a clean election culture.
During the year, the Department also established a Forensic Accounting Group to enhance its investigative capacity in view of increasingly sophisticated commercial and financial fraud cases facilitated by corruption.
The Group comprised dedicated forensic accountants with professional qualifications and extensive forensic accounting experience. In 2011, it conducted examination of 122 cases, involving 300 target individuals and companies in connection with 7,581 tran sactions and an aggregated sum of $12.9 billion.
On the preventive side, the Corruption Prevention Department continued to focus on areas of public concern, including governance and internal control of tertiary institutions, national sports associations and estate agencies and administration of governme nt funding schemes.
In response to the possible risk of malpractice in the management of obstetric services in private hospitals and the sale of high-demand goods in retail chains, the Commission reacted promptly by producing two corruption prevention guides to all stakehold ers.
During the year, the ICAC also stepped up its efforts in fostering an integrity culture among young people, particularly tertiary students before they entered the workforce.
With the support of seven universities, the Community Relations Department had developed a personal ethics module which was incorporated in the curriculum of their general education or other related programmes.
Tertiary students were also encouraged to take ownership of integrity projects on campuses through an “ICAC Ambassador” programme under which 110 new members were recruited in the year.
On the international front, under the auspices of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities, the ICAC hosted the first ever International Anti-Corruption Public Service Announcement Competition and Workshop in December 2011.
The event attracted 29 entries from 21 countries and regions at a congregation of over 200 anti-corruption and media experts locally and worldwide, the report revealed.
Tabling the ICAC’s 2011 Annual Report at the Legislative Council today (Wednesday), member of the Legislative Council and the Advisory Committee on Corruption Mr Chan Kam-lam noted that the community continued to trust and support the Commission, which vigorously carried out its statutory anti-corruption duties.
In 2011, the total number of corruption complaints stood at 4,010, registering a 13 per cent rise than in 2010. Among the corruption complaints received, 77 per cent were pursuable and 74 per cent non-anonymous.
Mr Chan said while the complaints against government departments in 2011 increased by six per cent to 1,117, there was no sign of any resurgence of syndicated corruption.
However, he stressed that breaches of the common law offence of Misconduct in Public Office continued to be uncovered within the government sector.
“Corruption has manifested itself from straightforward quid pro quo bribery to conflict of interest situations and varying degrees of abuse of office for personal gain,” he added.
He said the ICAC would remain vigilant and would take necessary actions to prevent the situation from becoming a trend.
The report also noted that complaints against public bodies recorded a slight drop of one per cent from 231 to 229 as compared to 2010.
The number of complaints in the private sector increased from 2,247 in 2010 to 2,664 last year. Complaints relating to building management accounted for 44 per cent, with over 60 per cent of those pursuable cases involving the operation and management of owners’ corporations, the report noted.
In 2011, the ICAC received 608 complaints concerning suspected breaches of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance, of which 553 were pursuable. Seventy-nine per cent of those cases alleged hundreds of voters registering with false resident ial addresses for the 2011 District Council Election.
The Commission had swiftly set up a special task force within the Operations Department to look into those suspected vote-rigging cases and stepped up education efforts to promote a clean election culture.
During the year, the Department also established a Forensic Accounting Group to enhance its investigative capacity in view of increasingly sophisticated commercial and financial fraud cases facilitated by corruption.
The Group comprised dedicated forensic accountants with professional qualifications and extensive forensic accounting experience. In 2011, it conducted examination of 122 cases, involving 300 target individuals and companies in connection with 7,581 tran sactions and an aggregated sum of $12.9 billion.
On the preventive side, the Corruption Prevention Department continued to focus on areas of public concern, including governance and internal control of tertiary institutions, national sports associations and estate agencies and administration of governme nt funding schemes.
In response to the possible risk of malpractice in the management of obstetric services in private hospitals and the sale of high-demand goods in retail chains, the Commission reacted promptly by producing two corruption prevention guides to all stakehold ers.
During the year, the ICAC also stepped up its efforts in fostering an integrity culture among young people, particularly tertiary students before they entered the workforce.
With the support of seven universities, the Community Relations Department had developed a personal ethics module which was incorporated in the curriculum of their general education or other related programmes.
Tertiary students were also encouraged to take ownership of integrity projects on campuses through an “ICAC Ambassador” programme under which 110 new members were recruited in the year.
On the international front, under the auspices of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities, the ICAC hosted the first ever International Anti-Corruption Public Service Announcement Competition and Workshop in December 2011.
The event attracted 29 entries from 21 countries and regions at a congregation of over 200 anti-corruption and media experts locally and worldwide, the report revealed.