ICAC continues to uphold Hong Kong’s probity, contribute to global anti-graft cause and partake in anti-epidemic work
2022-5-4
ICAC Commissioner Simon Peh Yun-lu today (May 4) hosted a press conference to recount Hong Kong’s anti-corruption efforts in 2021 amid the Covid-19 epidemic and update the media on the Commission’s major initiatives both locally and in the international arena this year. The press conference was originally scheduled for earlier this year but was postponed until today due to the epidemic situation.
The ICAC received 2,264 non-election related corruption complaints in 2021, representing an increase of 18% over 2020, and remaining more or less the same as that in 2019. In the first three months of this year, the Commission received 391 corruption complaints, of which 321 were pursuable, representing a drop of 22% and 19% respectively.
“In 2021, corruption remains well under control in Hong Kong. The surge in corruption complaints was mainly attributed to the increase in complaints concerning the private sector as the economic gradually picked up after the epidemic had eased off. As Hong Kong was badly hit by the fifth wave of the epidemic earlier this year, there was a drop in the overall corruption complaints received in the first quarter of 2022. That said, it is not suitable to make a year-on-year comparison based on statistics collected in only three months,” the Commissioner said.
Mr Peh noted that apart from anti-corruption duties, ICAC officers had proactively assisted the government in its anti-epidemic work since the fifth wave of the epidemic. Several hundred ICAC staff members had taken turns to shoulder different duties, including contact-tracing, anti-epidemic supplies distribution, manning enquiry hotlines and assisting in organising the registration hotline and centre for Home Vaccination Service. They had exemplified the effectiveness, professionalism, resilience and team spirit of the Commission.
In 2021, corruption complaints involving government bureaux/departments slightly rose by 3%, while those concerning public bodies went down by 15% when compared with 2020.
The Commissioner noted that the civil service remained clean and honest. Following the establishment of the Civil Service College, the ICAC would take part in a number of training courses of the College to systematically introduce to civil servants of different ranks the anti-bribery law and other probity requirements. Newly elected legislators would be invited to visit the ICAC Headquarters to learn first-hand the work of the four departments.
In addition, it is the ICAC’s duty to examine the systems and procedures of government departments and public bodies to assess and identify corruption risks. Mr Peh said: “The ICAC will keep abreast of the latest development and needs of the society and offer up-to-date corruption prevention advice, such as leveraging technology to enhance public service efficiency, streamline procedures as well as provide more effective monitoring measures,”
The ICAC had also launched an integrity promotion campaign for public bodies to encourage them to put in place integrity management systems. At the same time, the Commission will partner with professional bodies to strengthen their integrity management and graft prevention capability.
Meanwhile, corruption complaints concerning the private sector registered an increase of 31% last year. Among different sectors, building management, construction industry, and finance and insurance attracted most complaints.
For the building management sector, the ICAC had been working closely with the Property Management Services Authority to strengthen its internal controls in various areas, such as licensing and complaints handling. The Commission had also produced a training video and self-learning kit for industry practitioners to enhance their ethical standard.
2021 saw a surge in corruption complaints in relation to employment-related matters involving construction workers, rising from 14 in 2020 to 70 last year. The ICAC had joined hands with the Construction Industry Council and relevant government departments to raise corruption prevention awareness in the industry and enhance corruption prevention measures in workers recruitment. Components of the “Integrity Management System” promulgated by the ICAC for the construction sector were included among the registration requirements for public works contractors. Over 190 construction companies had so far joined the “Integrity Charter” launched by the Commission.
Following the introduction of the new regulatory regime in the insurance industry, the ICAC had launched a Corruption Prevention Guide for Insurance Companies. The Commission will also roll out an Ethics Promotion Programme for Banking Industry to enhance professional ethics of banking practitioners and promote a probity culture across the industry.
As at the end of 2021, the ICAC received eight complaints regarding the Election Committee Subsector Elections and 52 in relation to the Legislative Council General Election held last year. For the Chief Executive Election to be held this Sunday (May 8), the ICAC had provided holistic educational services to candidates, elections helpers and Election Committee members. ICAC officers will also be deployed to observe the polling and the vote-counting procedures.
The ICAC had strived to nurture positive values among young people. The newly launched i-PLUS youth development project aimed to enhance secondary and tertiary school students’ law-abidingness and knowledge in local anti-corruption work. The Commission held the first leadership training camp for secondary school students last year, and the programme will be extended to tertiary students this summer.
On the international anti-graft front, since Commissioner Peh was elected President of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) in January this year, the ICAC has taken over the work of IAACA Secretariat, reflecting the recognition of Hong Kong’s anti-graft work by the international community and the Commission’s increasing importance in the global arena.
Peh noted that following his assumption of IAACA presidency, the Association had immediately adopted the global regions cooperation and coordination mechanism advocated by the ICAC so as to strengthen regional cooperation and put forward anti-corruption agencies (ACAs)’ capacity building.
The IAACA is an independent, non-political anti-corruption organisation instrumental to promoting the effective implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), and assisting ACAs worldwide in preventing and fighting against corruption. Under the UNCAC, the ICAC has been designated by the Central Government since 2006 to assist other state parties in developing and implementing corruption prevention measures.
In the past five years, the ICAC had built rapport with 63 UNCAC state parties for anti-corruption training. Over 30 capacity building programmes were hosted for overseas ACAs, benefiting over 1,000 anti-graft fighters worldwide.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The ICAC will launch an array of activities to enhance the public’s understanding of Hong Kong’s probity situation and the Commission’s work. Among them will be a three-day “Journey for Integrity” experiential programme to take place in June at Tai Kwun, Central. Participants will learn more about the evils of corruption and the rule of law by taking a walk down memory lane of Hong Kong’s anti-corruption history. Members of the public can also visit various ICAC facilitates and attend briefing by ICAC officers during the ICAC Open Day scheduled for this summer.
The ICAC received 2,264 non-election related corruption complaints in 2021, representing an increase of 18% over 2020, and remaining more or less the same as that in 2019. In the first three months of this year, the Commission received 391 corruption complaints, of which 321 were pursuable, representing a drop of 22% and 19% respectively.
“In 2021, corruption remains well under control in Hong Kong. The surge in corruption complaints was mainly attributed to the increase in complaints concerning the private sector as the economic gradually picked up after the epidemic had eased off. As Hong Kong was badly hit by the fifth wave of the epidemic earlier this year, there was a drop in the overall corruption complaints received in the first quarter of 2022. That said, it is not suitable to make a year-on-year comparison based on statistics collected in only three months,” the Commissioner said.
Mr Peh noted that apart from anti-corruption duties, ICAC officers had proactively assisted the government in its anti-epidemic work since the fifth wave of the epidemic. Several hundred ICAC staff members had taken turns to shoulder different duties, including contact-tracing, anti-epidemic supplies distribution, manning enquiry hotlines and assisting in organising the registration hotline and centre for Home Vaccination Service. They had exemplified the effectiveness, professionalism, resilience and team spirit of the Commission.
In 2021, corruption complaints involving government bureaux/departments slightly rose by 3%, while those concerning public bodies went down by 15% when compared with 2020.
The Commissioner noted that the civil service remained clean and honest. Following the establishment of the Civil Service College, the ICAC would take part in a number of training courses of the College to systematically introduce to civil servants of different ranks the anti-bribery law and other probity requirements. Newly elected legislators would be invited to visit the ICAC Headquarters to learn first-hand the work of the four departments.
In addition, it is the ICAC’s duty to examine the systems and procedures of government departments and public bodies to assess and identify corruption risks. Mr Peh said: “The ICAC will keep abreast of the latest development and needs of the society and offer up-to-date corruption prevention advice, such as leveraging technology to enhance public service efficiency, streamline procedures as well as provide more effective monitoring measures,”
The ICAC had also launched an integrity promotion campaign for public bodies to encourage them to put in place integrity management systems. At the same time, the Commission will partner with professional bodies to strengthen their integrity management and graft prevention capability.
Meanwhile, corruption complaints concerning the private sector registered an increase of 31% last year. Among different sectors, building management, construction industry, and finance and insurance attracted most complaints.
For the building management sector, the ICAC had been working closely with the Property Management Services Authority to strengthen its internal controls in various areas, such as licensing and complaints handling. The Commission had also produced a training video and self-learning kit for industry practitioners to enhance their ethical standard.
2021 saw a surge in corruption complaints in relation to employment-related matters involving construction workers, rising from 14 in 2020 to 70 last year. The ICAC had joined hands with the Construction Industry Council and relevant government departments to raise corruption prevention awareness in the industry and enhance corruption prevention measures in workers recruitment. Components of the “Integrity Management System” promulgated by the ICAC for the construction sector were included among the registration requirements for public works contractors. Over 190 construction companies had so far joined the “Integrity Charter” launched by the Commission.
Following the introduction of the new regulatory regime in the insurance industry, the ICAC had launched a Corruption Prevention Guide for Insurance Companies. The Commission will also roll out an Ethics Promotion Programme for Banking Industry to enhance professional ethics of banking practitioners and promote a probity culture across the industry.
As at the end of 2021, the ICAC received eight complaints regarding the Election Committee Subsector Elections and 52 in relation to the Legislative Council General Election held last year. For the Chief Executive Election to be held this Sunday (May 8), the ICAC had provided holistic educational services to candidates, elections helpers and Election Committee members. ICAC officers will also be deployed to observe the polling and the vote-counting procedures.
The ICAC had strived to nurture positive values among young people. The newly launched i-PLUS youth development project aimed to enhance secondary and tertiary school students’ law-abidingness and knowledge in local anti-corruption work. The Commission held the first leadership training camp for secondary school students last year, and the programme will be extended to tertiary students this summer.
On the international anti-graft front, since Commissioner Peh was elected President of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) in January this year, the ICAC has taken over the work of IAACA Secretariat, reflecting the recognition of Hong Kong’s anti-graft work by the international community and the Commission’s increasing importance in the global arena.
Peh noted that following his assumption of IAACA presidency, the Association had immediately adopted the global regions cooperation and coordination mechanism advocated by the ICAC so as to strengthen regional cooperation and put forward anti-corruption agencies (ACAs)’ capacity building.
The IAACA is an independent, non-political anti-corruption organisation instrumental to promoting the effective implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), and assisting ACAs worldwide in preventing and fighting against corruption. Under the UNCAC, the ICAC has been designated by the Central Government since 2006 to assist other state parties in developing and implementing corruption prevention measures.
In the past five years, the ICAC had built rapport with 63 UNCAC state parties for anti-corruption training. Over 30 capacity building programmes were hosted for overseas ACAs, benefiting over 1,000 anti-graft fighters worldwide.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The ICAC will launch an array of activities to enhance the public’s understanding of Hong Kong’s probity situation and the Commission’s work. Among them will be a three-day “Journey for Integrity” experiential programme to take place in June at Tai Kwun, Central. Participants will learn more about the evils of corruption and the rule of law by taking a walk down memory lane of Hong Kong’s anti-corruption history. Members of the public can also visit various ICAC facilitates and attend briefing by ICAC officers during the ICAC Open Day scheduled for this summer.