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manufacturing, trafficking and abuse in Hong Kong. The service co-operates closely with the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, overseas customs authorities and other law enforce- ment agencies.
During the year, 320 kilograms of dangerous drugs were seized, including 55 kilograms of heroin, 194 kilograms of heroin base, 64 kilograms of opium and seven kilograms of cannabis. Altogether 1 140 people were charged with narcotics offences.
Copyright Protection
The service is responsible for protecting the copyright of literary, dramatic and musical works. While the problem of pirated sound recordings has largely been contained, illicit copying of motion pictures and television programmes remains a major concern. In 1983, the Copyright Division made 43 copyright investigations, which resulted in 48 people being charged and the seizure of 3 302 pirated video tapes and 54 video recorders. In addition, as an offshoot of the division's activities in this field, 1 805 pornographic video tapes were seized, and 38 people charged with offences under the Objectionable Publications Ordinance.
Independent Commission Against Corruption
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was set up in 1974 to combat corruption through investigation, prevention and education. Today, the large scale syndicated corruption that prevailed in the 1960s and early 1970s has been eradicated through the concerted effort of the public, the government and the ICAC. However, corruption complaints directed at individual civil servants and the private sector continue. In 1983, there were 873 complaints alleging corruption in the private sector, an increase of four per cent over the previous year. Complaints against the public sector numbered 1 546, compared with 1 421 in 1982.
The ICAC is independent of the Civil Service, and the commissioner is directly responsible to the Governor. It has an establishment of 1 171 posts: 703 in operations, 65 in corruption prevention, 287 in community relations and 116 in administration.
An Advisory Committee on Corruption, consisting of leading citizens and senior government officials, provides guidance for the commission on policy matters affecting staffing, financial estimates, administration and other aspects of its work. Each of the functional departments is also guided by an advisory body with members drawn from various sectors of the community and public service. All complaints against the commission and its staff are handled by an ICAC Complaints Committee, which comprises six unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Councils and a law officer. In 1983,
21 complaints were received. They were thoroughly investigated and advice was given by the committee on the action considered necessary.
Operations
The investigation of reports of alleged or suspected offences under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, the ICAC Ordinance and the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Ordinance – is the responsibility of the Operations Department.
In 1983, the department received 2 526 corruption complaints, compared with 2 349 in 1982. Of these, 680 were made by members of the public in person, 946 by telephone and 537 by letter; 229 reports were received from other government departments. Some 63 per cent of the complaints were made by people who were prepared to identify themselves, compared with 35 per cent in 1974. This is an indication of increasing public confidence in the ICAC.