The Government was deeply concerned about the Yuen Chau Kok short piling scam, and set up an independent committee to critically review the whole issue. The committee published its report on 25 May 2000 and recommended a number of improvement measures.
The Corruption Prevention Department of the ICAC, in conjunction with HD and related Government departments, subsequently formulated corruption preventive measures to plug loopholes. These measures included:
A works supervision plan should be formulated before the commencement of works under which professionals should be involved in monitoring major procedures and the frequency of inspections should be specified. All records relating to the works should be properly maintained.
When it proved necessary to carry out any works at night, suitable supervisory staff should be appointed to stay at the site to monitor the quality of the works.
Testing procedures, including how tests should be monitored, how frequent they should be, and the detailed nature of samples for testing, should be clearly specified. In particular, tight controls should be implemented over the extraction of samples and their secure storage and transport.
To prevent tampering, laboratories should be requested to deliver the reports directly to the consultancy companies. Consultancy companies should conduct independent random checks to verify the reliability of tests.
Contracts should include probity clauses covering such matters as codes of conduct and guidelines on conflicts of interest. The terms of the contracts should be so phrased as to deter main contractors and subcontractors from turning to corruption and malpractice.
Site supervisors’ understanding of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance should be improved and their ethical standards enhanced.
To tackle the series of short piling scams that had come to light since 1999, the ICAC set up a 45-man task force on 1 February 2000 to investigate reports of corruption involving short piles and jerry-built construction works. The aim was to seek to begin investigations as early as possible so that timely remedial measures could be taken before it was too late.
The number of corruption reports received by the ICAC concerning the construction industry dropped since 2002, from a high of 295 reports in 2001 to 114 reports in 2007. This significant drop of 61% indicates that positive progress has been made in building a culture of integrity in the construction industry.
Public support and community participation is pivotal to success in the fight against corruption. The Community Relations Department of the ICAC provides corruption prevention guidelines and education to various trades and industries to enhance their ethical standards at work. In addition, The Corruption Prevention Department provides free corruption prevention consultancy services to private sector organizations. For more details, please contact us. All information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence.