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study of the inspection and verification procedures of the trade control function of the Customs and Excise Department.
The management of private multi-storey buildings had generated a sizeable proportion of corruption compliants. In conjunction with the City and New Territories Adminis- tration, the department introduced standard deeds of mutual covenant and produced a handbook advising owners' corporations on building management. It also assisted in reviewing the legislation in an attempt to improve the management of owners' corporations and to provide a legal framework conducive to effective building management.
The department played a consultative role in the privatisation of certain government functions and activities especially in the transport field. The main concern was to ensure that the selection criteria for tenderers were objective, and the operating procedures of the successful tenderers were free from corruption opportunities.
The department's Advisory Services Group responded to requests for assistance from 188 companies in 1992. It gave advice on ethical guidelines for employees and im- provements to system controls to prevent corruption and fraud. Also, as the number of credit card frauds increased, the group recommended measures to companies concerned to prevent the illicit release of credit card information by corrupt employees to counterfeiting syndicates.
Community Relations
The Community Relations Department educates the public against the evils of corruption and enlists their support to fight the problem; it also aims to promote higher social and business ethical standards. It works through the mass media as well as direct personal approaches for different target audiences.
The department's eight regional offices act as focal points for carrying out anti- corruption liaison work and providing preventive education services to the community.
The department continued to place emphasis on the commercial and manufacturing sectors. Corruption prevention packages were produced for companies in the trading, real estate, hotel, property management, advertising, airline, travel and retailing industries. The packages were specially designed to help the chief executive identify corruption-prone areas in his company and to suggest preventive measures. During the year, specially-trained staff of the department established personal contacts with chief executives and senior managers of 1 820 companies to introduce these packages to them.
Using the less labour-intensive method of direct mail, the department put anti- corruption messages across to over 13 000 small trading firms during the year. This method was developed specifically to enhance liaison with the large number of small-sized firms.
A total of 58 organisations from both the private and public sectors took part in the department's Community Participation Programme under which they organised their own anti-corruption activities and received a small ICAC subsidy towards the cost of those activities.
For government departments and public bodies, the department conducted talks and seminars for a total of 18 350 existing staff and new recruits. The objective was to inform them of the law and to enhance their awareness against bribery in the course of their duty.
On the mass media front, in addition to a series of television, radio and press adver- tisements, advertising on buses and telephone booths was introduced to motivate the public to support ICAC's work and to report corruption offences. A television drama series
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