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a hindrance than a help in the fight against corruption.
10.
We have to use these procedures. It is a
fundamental principle (CSR 305) that, subject to the prerogative rights of the Crown (i.e. dismissal at pleasure), the service of an officer on the permanent establishment may only be terminated in accordance with the disciplinary procedures set out in Colonial Regulations, the Disciplinary (Colonial Regulations) Regulations or in accordance with the statutory powers granted to the heads of certain departments,
11.
The nub of the problem for many years has been the answer to the question whether, in the special circumstances of Hong Kong, (and by that I mean the widespread existence of corruption throughout commerce and industry and the public service) the public interest demands that the rice bowl of the civil servant who is thought to be corrupt should be made of clay rather than iron. There is no doubt that the civil servant has an enviable security of tenure and there are good reasons for this. It must not be possible for him to fear that pressure from the public could result in loss of his job but we have to ask ourselves whether that security should be maintained in the case of those civil servants who have abused their special position of responsibility.
12.
Although it must seem ridiculous to you all, and especially to ICAC officers who have carried out a detailed investigation but have insufficient evidence for a prosecution or who have taken cases to court only to see them thrown out for lack of corroborating evidence, those of us who are engaged in the disciplinary process spend many hours searching desperately for ways to terminate the service of officers who are known to be corrupt. And as you know the end result is often not dismissal but retirement in the public
interest with full benefits which is not even classed as a
punishment.
13.
First
To understand why we are in this seemingly stupid position we need to look at the relevant authorities.
of all there is Article XVI of the Letters Patent which
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