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(i) the complainant has been consulted and he or she has clearly indicated that he or she has no objection to the revelation of his or her identity, and
(ii) there is no reason to believe that by so doing there would be a risk of undesirable repercussion such as threats or reprisals against the complainant. Departmental officers have been reminded from time to time to ensure that the instruction is strictly followed and the Department treats any complaint of breach of the instruction seriously. The second part of the question enquires about the time that usually takes to completely disclose the relevant information after receiving the complaints.
As mentioned above and for obvious reasons, the officer investigating a complaint is not allowed to disclose the identity, address or telephone number of a complainant to any member of the public. Therefore, the question of time frame does not arise.
The third part of the question enquires about whether USD would review regularly the relevant mechanism for disclosing information.
As stated above, departmental officers are fully aware of the procedures in handling complaints. The existing practice has been properly adhered to by all concerned.
MR. LEE KWOK-KEUNG (in Cantonese):—I remember asking a similar question at a meeting of the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee some time ago. I complained about illegal hawking. Afterwards, unlicensed hawkers reflected to me through kai-fongs that I should not have driven them out of business. At that time, I was told by experienced Members of the Select Committee that such situations occurred quite often and that I did not understand because I was new to the Council. From what I have learnt from other Members, I realize now that similar situations do occur often. Are you, as the Chairman of the Select Committee, aware of the disclosure of information in the complaints?
MR. JP KWOK-CHUNG (in Cantonese):—As far as I know, one case of complaint about the disclosure of the identity of a complainant was reported to the police. Investigations by the police showed no concrete evidence. So, I can only tell Mr. LEE that there is not one substantiated case to tell me about the occurrence of this.
Mr. Ambrose Cheung Wing-sum (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, my follow-up question concerns the content of the reply document which fails to give Members confidence that the particulars of complainants would not be disclosed. Complaints may be lodged through various channels like through you, Mr. Chairman, Chairmen of various Select Committees or the Director, Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors or even the Regional Superintendents. Since there is nothing concrete in the reply document, I want to ask the Chairman of the Select Committee if examples can be quoted by departmental staff to the Select
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