Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong)

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC; Chinese: ) is the statutory independent anti-corruption body of Hong Kong with the primary objective of combating corruption in both the public and private sectors. Established in 1974 and operating independently from the Hong Kong government and law enforcement agencies, the ICAC is headed by the Commissioner, who reports directly to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. The ICAC has played a crucial role in maintaining Hong Kong's reputation as one of the least corrupt places globally and fostering a culture of integrity within the city.

The ICAC's functions encompass investigation, prevention, and education. It investigates complaints of corruption-related offenses, conducts operations to uncover corrupt practices, and has the authority to arrest, search, and seize property. In addition, the ICAC works on preventing corruption by reviewing and improving systems and procedures in government departments, public bodies, and private organizations, while also offering advice and assistance in implementing effective anti-corruption measures. The ICAC also engages in public education and awareness campaigns to raise ethical standards in the community and encourage the public to report corruption.

The Article 57 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong stipulates that the ICAC shall operate independently and be directly accountable to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. By the Article 48, the Commissioner of the ICAC, being as a principal official of Hong Kong, is nominated by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and appointed by the State Council of the People's Republic of China.

Background

As Hong Kong recovered after World War II, the population began to swell and manufacturing industries grew. By the 1960s Hong Kong was experiencing economic growth, yet the government kept civil servants' salaries very low. Officials in all departments took advantage of their positions to supplement their wages with demands for "tea money," "lucky money," or substantially larger sums. Examples of corruption ranged from nursing sisters demanding money to provide services such as extra blankets, food or to allow visitors outside normal hours; firemen lived by the saying, "冇錢，冇水" ("No money, no water") and sometimes asked for money to turn off the water, preventing water damage, once a fire had been put out; officials in Lands and Public Works departments secured huge sums of money for "advice" and "signatures" that procured the award of tenders and enabled developments and projects to proceed; the Royal Hong Kong Police organised entire stations to "make money" from hawkers, licences, and in many other illicit schemes. Civil servants often had to pay for promotions and postings in positions known for a lucrative return.

The Hong Kong Police Force previously had an Anti-Corruption Branch, but it did little to reduce corruption in February 1952. Public perception was that Anti-Corruption police, following the discovery of corrupt practices, would then enter into the dealings themselves. One example was Peter Godber, a senior officer stationed at Wan Chai Police Station and later at Kai Tak Airport police station. Before his retirement in 1973, he had amassed at least 4.3 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately 600,000 US dollars) in overseas bank accounts. The police's Anti-Corruption Branch investigated his wealth and ordered him to explain his source of income. In response, Godber immediately arranged for his wife to leave the colony, then used his police airport pass to bypass Immigration and Passport checks and walked onto a plane for London. Godber's escape led to a large public outcry over the integrity and quality of the police's self-investigation and called for reforms in the government's anti-corruption efforts. Godber was later extradited back to Hong Kong to face trial and was convicted.

In 1960s, Ernest Thornton, a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament, had suggested the appointment of an independent body by the UK government to investigate corruption issues in Hong Kong. The suggestion was denied however. ICAC was eventually established on 15 February 1974, after a study team of Hong Kong civil servants was sent to Singapore and Sri Lanka in 1968 to study their anti corruption laws and Godber's escape in 1973.

The newly formed Independent Commission Against Corruption would be answerable to only the Governor of Hong Kong, unlike the old police Anti-Corruption Branch. Most ICAC operations staff were sergeants recruited from specifically British police forces and were certainly not beyond sharp practices themselves. Their tactics and methods were often aggressive—they would go to a police station and take an entire shift in for questioning as a "fishing exercise." Ultimately their shock tactics were effective.

Development

In the early days there were running punch-ups between ICAC officers and angry policemen who stormed their offices in Central District; this situation ended only with the announcement of a partial amnesty for minor corruptions committed before 1977. But gradually, the ICAC made itself felt and several high-profile police officers were tried and convicted. Others were forced to retire. As a result of its investigations, a mass purge took place in early 1978, where it was announced that 119 officers including one customs official were asked to leave under the provisions of Colonial Regulation 55 (see footnote 1 below) to fast track the decisions in the public interest; a further 24 officers were held on conspiracy charges, and 36 officers and a customs official were given amnesties. The move received a mixed response from the public whilst being broadly supported by legislative councillors as being in the best interests of Hong Kong not to let the affair fester and further demoralise the police Force. Urban Council member Elsie Elliot criticised the government for being lenient to senior corrupt officials, punishing only "small flies."

Gradually, Hong Kong transformed from a graft-ridden city into one of the least corrupt places in the world, as recognised by international institutions such as the World Bank, The Heritage Foundation and Transparency International. Some countries have looked to the ICAC as an effective model of combating graft holistically through detection, prevention, and education.

In the 1970s, eight out of 10 graft complaints were against public officers. This trend has reversed over the years. Complaints against police officers reduced by 70 percent—from 1,443 in 1974 to 446 in 2007. Nowadays, only three out of 10 complaints relate to public servants. Private sector cases meanwhile have been on the rise in recent years. The ICAC has stepped up efforts to help enterprises minimise corruption risks through system controls and staff training. (The statistics are provided by the ICAC.)

In the late 1980s, the Acting Crown Prosecutor, Charles Warwick Reid, was arrested for taking bribes to throw trials. He was subsequently convicted. He did not take up his post as Director of New Zealand's new Serious Fraud Office. His eight-year sentence was reduced to six years when he turned informer. He spent his time in witness protection, the first three years in solitary confinement, and on his release was returned to his native New Zealand. Within a couple of days he had made a false affidavit for a Chinese businessman standing trial in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong authorities wanted him extradited, but he was instead tried in New Zealand and sentenced to two years. He, his wife and his solicitor became the defendants in a landmark Privy Council caseAttorney General for Hong Kong v Reid UKPC 2 on tracing bribe money in 1993, when the Attorney-General of Hong Kong sought to obtain unpaid fines of $12,000,000 by claims on land Reid bought in the New Zealand seaside town of Tauranga.

In 2008, corruption reports received by the ICAC dropped six per cent to 3,377, of which 65 per cent were related to the private sector, 28 per cent concerned government departments, and the remaining seven per cent were against public bodies.

Research on corruption—carried out by the Anti Corruption Resource Centre—shows that police corruption in Hong Kong was frequently associated with "illegal markets" or "victimless crimes" such as gambling, prostitution and drugs. Thus, the decision to legalise off-course betting in Hong Kong—a previously rich source of police bribes—may plausibly have contributed to the fall in police corruption. The investigative, preventive, and educational activities of the ICAC no doubt also had some impact but were not solely or even largely responsible for reducing police corruption.

Controversies After the big purges of the 1970s, many thought that the ICAC would take a reduced role in society, but despite the fact that their main job was done their influence remained pervasive. Short of voluminous numbers of dramatic cases many ICAC officers left Hong Kong, others remained to enjoy a less taxing life. However, in 1993 senior assistant director of Operations Alex Tsui Ka-kit was suddenly sacked by Commissioner Bertrand de Speville. The "Alex Tsui Affair" caused a huge stir in the mid-1990s as Tsui did not go quietly. Indeed, he made counter-allegations of misconduct within the ICAC, one of which was that Director of Operations Jim Buckle had "squashed" an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by an officer called Michael Croft (who was later transferred and forced out of the service). Alex Tsui's continued rantings in the media and Legislative Council did little for the image of ICAC.

A year later at Christmas 1995, an ICAC assistant director—a well-known carouser—was arrested for drinking and driving. Following conviction he mysteriously avoided strong punishment and received only a "reprimand" from the Commissioner of the ICAC.

On 31 October 2006, Fanny Law was appointed Commissioner of the ICAC. The unpopular Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower was seen as being weak on security-related issues. In addition, as Law's and former Commissioner Raymond Wong's appointments were a direct swap, the government was derided by the Civic Party and Liberal Party for belittling an important position by playing "musical chairs." Law was not perceived to be at the end of her civil service career, while the post of Commissioner was traditionally a 'final' posting, allowing the official to work without fear or favour.

Expenses scandal In 2013, Timothy Tong was found to have overspent on entertaining and gifts for mainland and other overseas officials during his 5-year tenure as Commissioner. An independent committee found that he had authorised entertaining expenses at banquets that exceeded internal guidelines. There was an example of an airline upgrade for two officers to business class costing HK$186,000 that had no record of approval, and one gift costing HK$4,140 ($530) that had been reportedly offered to a senior mainland official. Tong was criticised by a Legislative Council committee for his 35 work trips which cost taxpayers almost HK$4 million ($513,000) and gifts to both mainland and overseas officials costing HK$282,000 ($36,100). The LegCo committee expressed its concern as to "whether Mr Tong had thoroughly considered that unduly close contacts between him and mainland officials in Hong Kong during his tenure might have shaken public confidence in the impartiality of the ICAC." Tong had recently been appointed delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference when the scandal broke. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam admitted that the controversy surrounding the over-expenditures "inevitably undermined the ICAC's image and Hong Kong's reputation as a corruption-free society."

Concerns over independence