Corruption situation remains stable despite slight rise in complaints
2017-6-28
The corruption situation in Hong Kong remained stable and under control despite a slight increase of three per cent in graft complaints, according to the 2016 ICAC Annual Report.
Tabling the report at the Legislative Council today (June 28), member of the Advisory Committee on Corruption and legislator Mr Abraham Shek Lai-him said the ICAC received 2,891 non-election related corruption complaints in 2016. Of those complaints, 63 per cent were targeted at the private sector, 29 per cent were related to government departments and eight per cent involved public bodies.
He said despite a slight increase of three per cent in corruption complaints compared to 2015, the ICAC Annual Survey 2016 conducted by an independent research institute indicated no sign of deterioration in the graft situation as only 1.2 per cent of respondents had come across corruption in the past 12 months.
Noting that 2016 was an “election year” in Hong Kong, Mr Shek said the ICAC received a total of 858 complaints alleging malpractices and illegal activities in different elections.
“To uphold clean and fair elections, the ICAC had been taking vigorous law enforcement actions against corrupt practices,” he said.
“In collaboration with relevant government departments, the ICAC has been reviewing the electoral legislation and procedures to ensure a sound and reliable voter registration system and disseminate anti-vote-rigging messages through extensive publicity and pre-election briefings.”
While corruption-facilitated tender-rigging activities remained a concern for the public, Mr Shek said the ICAC took robust enforcement action against such activities. Corruption prevention leaflets, training videos and toolkits were also published for owners, owners’ corporations and relevant parties and organisations involved in building management and maintenance.
Mr Shek added that during the year, the ICAC received 16 complaints concerning corruption-facilitated tender-rigging activities, which accounted for a small percentage of the total number of complaints.
In the Commissioner’s Review of the annual report, ICAC Commissioner Mr Simon Peh Yun-lu said some recent cases involving former or incumbent senior government officials showed that the ICAC had been discharging its duties professionally, impartially and without interference, regardless of the background, identity and social status of the persons involved.
Mr Peh also noted that last year, staff movement at the top echelon of the ICAC aroused rumours and speculations that the changes pertained to an ongoing ICAC investigation.
“I had repeatedly made it clear on various occasions and through the media that the decision on such staff movement was based entirely on personnel management considerations and in accordance with the regulations and procedures of the government and the ICAC,” he said.
Mr Peh stressed that under the stringent mechanism of checks and balances, the ICAC’s investigative work could never be interfered by any person, nor would it deviate from the normal path because of personnel movement.
On the preventive front, the Corruption Prevention Department published a wide range of best practice checklists in 2016, including a sample code of conduct for managers and staff of kindergartens and a corruption prevention guide on administration of public-private partnership programmes for healthcare services.
In addition, 69 assignment reports on the systems and procedures of government departments, public bodies and non-governmental organisations were completed, and advice was provided to public and private organisations on 1,420 occasions to strengthen their internal control and governance.
On the education front, the Community Relations Department ran a territory-wide “All for Integrity” education and publicity programme in 2016. By reaching out to people in different strata of the community through an array of activities, the programme aimed at heightening their awareness of the importance of integrity, consolidating public support for anti-graft efforts, and passing the torch of the core value of probity to the next generation. The programme was supported by over 80 organisations and had reached about 790,000 people.
The Commissioner remarked that the probity situation of Hong Kong was well recognised by various international rating organisations, such as the Transparency International, the Heritage Foundation and TRACE International.
“Hong Kong’s anti-corruption system has proved effective for over 42 years and the Commission’s graft-fighting achievements have been highly acclaimed in the local and global arena,” Mr Peh said.
In 2016, over 3,000 experts and academics from law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organisations and academic institutions outside Hong Kong visited the ICAC for exchange of expertise and experience, Mr Peh added.
Tabling the report at the Legislative Council today (June 28), member of the Advisory Committee on Corruption and legislator Mr Abraham Shek Lai-him said the ICAC received 2,891 non-election related corruption complaints in 2016. Of those complaints, 63 per cent were targeted at the private sector, 29 per cent were related to government departments and eight per cent involved public bodies.
He said despite a slight increase of three per cent in corruption complaints compared to 2015, the ICAC Annual Survey 2016 conducted by an independent research institute indicated no sign of deterioration in the graft situation as only 1.2 per cent of respondents had come across corruption in the past 12 months.
Noting that 2016 was an “election year” in Hong Kong, Mr Shek said the ICAC received a total of 858 complaints alleging malpractices and illegal activities in different elections.
“To uphold clean and fair elections, the ICAC had been taking vigorous law enforcement actions against corrupt practices,” he said.
“In collaboration with relevant government departments, the ICAC has been reviewing the electoral legislation and procedures to ensure a sound and reliable voter registration system and disseminate anti-vote-rigging messages through extensive publicity and pre-election briefings.”
While corruption-facilitated tender-rigging activities remained a concern for the public, Mr Shek said the ICAC took robust enforcement action against such activities. Corruption prevention leaflets, training videos and toolkits were also published for owners, owners’ corporations and relevant parties and organisations involved in building management and maintenance.
Mr Shek added that during the year, the ICAC received 16 complaints concerning corruption-facilitated tender-rigging activities, which accounted for a small percentage of the total number of complaints.
In the Commissioner’s Review of the annual report, ICAC Commissioner Mr Simon Peh Yun-lu said some recent cases involving former or incumbent senior government officials showed that the ICAC had been discharging its duties professionally, impartially and without interference, regardless of the background, identity and social status of the persons involved.
Mr Peh also noted that last year, staff movement at the top echelon of the ICAC aroused rumours and speculations that the changes pertained to an ongoing ICAC investigation.
“I had repeatedly made it clear on various occasions and through the media that the decision on such staff movement was based entirely on personnel management considerations and in accordance with the regulations and procedures of the government and the ICAC,” he said.
Mr Peh stressed that under the stringent mechanism of checks and balances, the ICAC’s investigative work could never be interfered by any person, nor would it deviate from the normal path because of personnel movement.
On the preventive front, the Corruption Prevention Department published a wide range of best practice checklists in 2016, including a sample code of conduct for managers and staff of kindergartens and a corruption prevention guide on administration of public-private partnership programmes for healthcare services.
In addition, 69 assignment reports on the systems and procedures of government departments, public bodies and non-governmental organisations were completed, and advice was provided to public and private organisations on 1,420 occasions to strengthen their internal control and governance.
On the education front, the Community Relations Department ran a territory-wide “All for Integrity” education and publicity programme in 2016. By reaching out to people in different strata of the community through an array of activities, the programme aimed at heightening their awareness of the importance of integrity, consolidating public support for anti-graft efforts, and passing the torch of the core value of probity to the next generation. The programme was supported by over 80 organisations and had reached about 790,000 people.
The Commissioner remarked that the probity situation of Hong Kong was well recognised by various international rating organisations, such as the Transparency International, the Heritage Foundation and TRACE International.
“Hong Kong’s anti-corruption system has proved effective for over 42 years and the Commission’s graft-fighting achievements have been highly acclaimed in the local and global arena,” Mr Peh said.
In 2016, over 3,000 experts and academics from law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organisations and academic institutions outside Hong Kong visited the ICAC for exchange of expertise and experience, Mr Peh added.