HONG KONG 2005

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is a dedicated anti-corruption agency independent of the civil service. Its Commissioner is directly accountable to the Chief Executive.

During the year, the ICAC continued to keep corruption in check through its three-pronged strategy of investigation, prevention and community education and, as a result of sustained efforts, Hong Kong continued to be rated by international and regional surveys as one of the cleanest places in the world.

ICAC officers are often invited to share Hong Kong's anti-corruption experience at international forums. In December, the Commissioner was invited to speak about Hong Kong's anti-corruption strategies and its cooperation with overseas jurisdictions at the first Asia-Europe Meeting Prosecutors-General Conference held in Shenzhen.

The ICAC enjoyed strong public support in 2005. An overwhelming 99 per cent of the respondents to an annual survey conducted by an independent consultancy expressed their support for the Commission's work. During the year, 73 per cent of complainants revealed their identities when lodging corruption reports to the Commission, the highest percentage since its inception.

The corruption situation remained stable. In 2005, the ICAC received 3 685 corruption reports (excluding election-related complaints), a drop of 2 per cent from the previous year. Of these, 1 161 involved government departments, down from 1 286 in 2004. There were 2 247 and 277 reports concerning the private sector and public bodies respectively, compared with 2 176 and 284 in 2004.

Of the 76 election-related reports received during the year, 45 were related to the Legislative Council Elections held in 2004 while 22 concerned the District Council Elections held in 2003. The remaining nine complaints arose from the Chief Executive Election and the Election Committee Sub-sector By-election held in 2005, and the Village Representatives Elections held in 2003.

The ICAC's Operations Department pursues a proactive and robust strategy in unearthing corruption cases, rendering it a high-risk crime. The department maintains close ties with other disciplined services, government departments, regulatory bodies and key industries to tackle corruption.

Major cases detected during the year included corruption-facilitated financial frauds, impropriety in the listing of companies and malpractice in the tendering of and bidding for contracts.

As at the end of 2005, the Operations Department's caseload stood at 1 361. The increasing sophistication and complexity of many of these cases has brought growing challenges in investigations. During the year, 356 persons were prosecuted and 51 cautioned in accordance with the advice of the Department of Justice.

The Corruption Prevention Department has a statutory duty to examine the practices and procedures of government departments and public bodies to identify loopholes conducive to corrupt practices and recommend measures to minimise such risks.

The department gives priority to areas of concern revealed in corruption investigations or identified through consultation with government departments. During the year, the department conducted 96 detailed corruption prevention reviews, with recommendations for improvement on various areas, including law enforcement, public procurement, outsourcing, licensing systems and implementation of public works.

Apart from detailed reviews, the department also gave advice on 305 occasions to help government departments and public bodies build in appropriate preventive measures when formulating new legislation, policies or procedures.

Training workshops were conducted for government and public sector employees to enhance awareness of corruption-prone areas and facilitate the implementation of preventive measures.

The department's Advisory Services Group provides free and confidential corruption prevention advice to private sector organisations on request. It offered such advice on 367 occasions during the year to help these organisations strengthen internal control systems and also organised workshops for various trades and industries to promote best practices.

The Community Relations Department is responsible for educating the public against the evils of corruption and enlisting the community's support in the anti-corruption drive, through face-to-face liaison and the mass media.

The department made continuous and vigorous efforts to enhance integrity in the civil service. Under an integrity entrenchment programme jointly launched with the Civil Service Bureau (CSB), the department devised tailor-made activities and programmes for different government departments to enhance the culture of probity. In June, in conjunction with the CSB, major chambers of commerce and the Hong Kong Institute of Directors, the department organised a large scale conference — 'Leadership Forum 2005 — Successes through Ethical Governance', attended by about 1 000 senior government officials and top executives of business organisations and public bodies. In addition, it gave training talks to more than 18 000 civil servants of various ranks from 62 departments.

The two-year Business Ethics Promotion Programme aimed at enhancing ethical management among listed companies concluded in 2005. Under the programme, the department visited the senior management of 740 listed companies to promote good governance.

During the year, the department embarked on a number of youth educational programmes through the mass media, the Internet, interactive school drama performances and other projects. In October, a territory-wide reading project was launched for all primary and secondary school students to instill positive values in young people. Apart from a web-based reading scheme, the project also included a writing competition and the publication of articles contributed by community leaders and writers.

The Election Committee Sub-sector By-election and the Chief Executive Election were held during the year. To promote the 'support clean elections' message, the department produced an information booklet on the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance for candidates and their election agents, alongside posters, leaflets, an election website and an election enquiry hotline.

To strengthen corruption prevention in building management, which attracted a large number of corruption complaints, the department established a Corruption Prevention Network for Property Management Companies. The network, which aims to enhance co-operation with the trade and to encourage positive action against corruption, has drawn a membership of over 100 managers from 70 companies.

In addition, the department and district organisations jointly organised a total of 320 community activities to promote the anti-corruption message, reaching over 400 000 people. The department also produced a radio drama and a radio spot series featuring interviews with ICAC investigators in 2005 to explain the commission's work.

Apart from regular operational liaison with overseas law enforcement agencies, there were frequent exchanges between the ICAC and other agencies and organisations abroad. During the year, it received 413 visitors from various parts of the world. The National Crime Squad of the United Kingdom, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption of Sri Lanka and the General Department of Criminal Investigation of the State of Kuwait were among the overseas delegations on exchange visits to the commission.

The United Nations Convention against Corruption, which came into force in December, marked a milestone in the international campaign against corruption. The Central People's Government has ratified the convention and intends to extend its application to Hong Kong.

With closer economic and social ties between Hong Kong and the Mainland, cooperation between the ICAC and its Mainland counterparts has become increasingly important.

The ICAC and the Mainland procuratorates continued to assist each other in interviewing voluntary witnesses in connection with corruption investigations under the Mutual Case Assistance Scheme. In 2005, ICAC investigators visited the Mainland on 20 occasions while Mainland officers visited Hong Kong on 56 occasions to pursue cases with each other's assistance.

The operation of the ICAC is subject to a stringent system of checks and balances. Apart from judicial supervision, the commission's work is scrutinised by four advisory committees — the Advisory Committee on Corruption, the Operations Review Committee, the Corruption Prevention Advisory Committee and the Citizens Advisory Committee on Community Relations.

An independent ICAC Complaints Committee, comprising members of the Legislative Council and other prominent citizens, monitors the handling of non-criminal complaints against the ICAC and its officers.