Ex-ICAC Chief Free from Prosecution

Ex-head of the anti-graft agency won't face further prosecution or investigation

Today there was finally an announcement of former ICAC chief Timothy Tong Hin-ming's fate -- that he would not be further prosecuted, nor further investigated.

Case closed.

What? Really?

When he was commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption from 2007-2012, Tong was found to have spent taxpayer money on lavish gifts and hosting dinners, for not only his mainland counterparts, but other Chinese officials too. He also invited his friends and relatives to dine at these dinners at taxpayers' expense.

For example, Tong hosted 206 meals that were listed as "official entertainment", and overspent on 77 of them. This compares with only two percent of the 460 meals hosted by other ICAC officers that overspent.

Apparently there isn't enough evidence to prosecute him -- or there is no law that he has broken.

ICAC's report says Tong didn't break rules in lavish spending

"With respect to the purchase of hard liquor, it is noted that there were neither regulations nor internal rules within the ICAC prohibiting the consumption or purchase of hard liquor, including Maotai during Mr Tong's tenure," the department for Justice said in a statement.

"It is also noted that even before his tenure, there had been occasions of serving hard liquor at official functions. It is unfortunately that the relevant rules and regulations in this regard at the time were not clear."

Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said applicable internal ICAC rules, that have since been revamped, made it difficult to prosecute Tong.

Yuen and current ICAC commissioner Simon Peh Yun-lu denied the decision was politically motivated, though Tong was appointed a CPPCC official in 2013; it made some wonder if all that wining and dining he did was to help him get that political position.

It is very disappointing that Tong did not get prosecuted, based on the fact that there were no strict rules in place about entertaining or giving lavish gifts, that it was more based on the officials' sense of morality and responsibility.

Did Tong know that before he bought all that booze? Now that's a question worth asking.

Regardless, the optics of this whole fiasco make the ICAC and the justice department look bad.

Who is the public supposed to believe?

A former ICAC investigator as well as several lawmakers are calling for full disclosure of the legal advice given to the justice department to lead it to today's announcement.

We shall see how the request is received...

Meanwhile today Transparency International released its latest Corruption Perceptions Index, where Hong Kong was ranked 18th along with Ireland and Japan. Hong Kong's score was 75 for 2015, up one from 2014. It was at 75 for 2013, and 77 for 2012.

It's intriguing that Hong Kong is thought to have improved on becoming less corrupt, though the number of complaints about corruption increased by 20 percent last year.

Is it me, or is it coincidence that the announcement about Tong is the same day Transparency International's report comes out? Makes one wonder what's really going on...

Reported Graft Cases in HK up 18%

ICAC's committee chairmen, Chow Chung-kong and Maria Tam Wai-chu

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) reports a surge in corruption complaints last year, 18 percent more at 2,798.

Among the complaints (all of which were not election-related), 1,831 were against the private sector, a 22 percent jump, from 2014; those against the public sector increased 15 percent to 200, and those against government departments was up 11 percent to 767 cases at 221.

The watchdog's advisory committee on corruption claimed the surge was due to the increased trust in the ICAC and more public service announcements on urging residents to report graft.

Former ICAC head Timothy Tong's investigation is ongoing

"I don't think we need to go into too much interpretation because of the past few years, corruption-related complaints ranged from 2,100 to 4,000," said committee chairman Chow Chung-kong.

"When we judge the situation of corruption in Hong Kong, we should look at the comprehensive set of factors, such as the nature of the complaints and the success rate in prosecutions."

Chow stressed that corruption had not worsened, and was under control.

He instead hit out at politicians for publicizing cases they reported to the ICAC, which may have given the public the impression that the watchdog had become a political tool.

However, last year, 213 people were convicted for corruption, a 24 percent increase.

How can Chow say that corruption has not gotten more severe compared to last year?

In addition, there is still the case of the ICAC's own former head, Timothy Tong Hin-ming, who has been alleged to have spent public money excessively. The investigation has been going on for three years without any sign of an end in sight.

"With regard to the time required for the investigation, it depends on many factors," Chow said.

What kind of vague statement is this?

If anything the ICAC should be the most critical of all public institutions, not be afraid to be blunt, especially when it comes to people or organizations that break the law. To say that Tong's case is still ongoing shows how things are moving so slowly and no one wants to take responsibility for it.

How can people have faith in the ICAC when it seems to be sidestepping its core values?

Still Waiting for an Outcome

ICAC chief Simon Peh defended how the agency takes time investigating

The head of the Independent Commission Against Corruption hit back at Hong Kong's recent decline in an international corruption perception ranking, saying it had nothing to do with how long it takes the agency to investigate high-profile cases.

Commissioner Simon Peh Yun-lu said this at the ICAC's sixth international symposium, where more than 500 guests from 60 countries or jurisdictions attended to exchange views on the latest graft-busting strategies and tactics.

Last year Berlin-based Transparency International placed Hong Kong 17th from 15th, scoring 74 out of 100, down one point from 2013. ICAC has received a lot of heat for taking two years or more to investigate such cases as Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po, former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and former ICAC commissioner Timothy Tong Hin-ming.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying also spoke at the symposium, stressing that Hong Kong remained "one of the cleanest cities in the world".

While Peh would not comment on individual cases, he would only say graft investigations now require collaboration with overseas law enforcement agencies, and as a result took longer to complete.

The investigation into Donald Tsang is still ongoing...

Back in mid-March, Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung announced Tsang's fate would be known soon, as the investigation had entered its "final phase", adding the investigation was "not as simple as one perhaps reads from newspapers".

It's now mid-May. What is Yuen's definition of soon?

What we know so far is that when Tsang was chief executive from 2005 to 2012, he allegedly agreed to a low-rent deal for a luxury Shenzhen flat with a businessman who owns a Hong Kong radio station. Tsang also allegedly accepted complimentary or cheap rides in private yachts or jets for travel to Macau and elsewhere.

Either the ICAC is slow in putting two and two together, or they have dug up even more dirt on the former chief executive which would be interesting.

At any rate, we want to know what Tsang's fate is -- we are taxpayers who deserve the truth.

So how can Peh blame us for thinking the longer we wait, the more we wonder what is going on behind the scenes?