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These guidelines and rules are circulated regularly to remind civil servants of the serious consequences of taking bribes. There are additional seasonal reminders (usually before Christmas and Chinese New Year) to remind civil servants of the rules concerning acceptance of gifts and entertainment. To reinforce these messages, Civil Service Branch in conjunction with the ICAC organise regular talks and seminars on anti-corruption and related subjects for civil servants. In particular, training sessions are organised for new recruits, staff in corruption prone positions and officers who have supervisory accountability. Starting from 1995, the ICAC launched a two year Support Clean Government Programme. Under the Programme. two corruption prevention guides were produced for senior and middle managers respectively followed up by seminars.
On the prevention side, the Corruption Prevention Department of the ICAC regularly reviews departmental procedures and practices with a view to identifying corruption opportunities and advising on ways to eliminate them. Monitoring studies are carried out to ensure compliance with established procedures. The ICAC is consulted by the Government on new policies, rules and procedures relating to conflict of interest and acceptance of advantages before they are implemented. Recently, we have promulgated guidelines for civil servants to report their investments in Hong Kong and in places outside Hong Kong where they have official dealings.
As regards enforcement of the relevant regulations, civil servants are required to report attempts of bribery and corruption to the ICAC. All complaints and allegations of corruption received by Government departments must be referred immediately to the ICAC for investigation. If a civil servant is convicted of a corruption offence, internal disciplinary action will be taken against him or her and appropriate steps taken in addition to any sentence imposed by the Courts. Punishment for corruption-related offences normally takes the form of dismissal from the service under Colonial Regulation 58. If a civil servant accused of a corruption related offence is acquitted or has his or her conviction quashed on technical grounds which do not undermine the prosecution evidence accepted by the court, consideration will be given to remove him or her from the civil service in the public interest under Colonial Regulation 59.
We are firmly committed to maintain an honest and corruption-free civil service. We believe that the number of corruption reports against civil servants demonstrate that our efforts over the years have been successful. With over 180,000 civil servants, the number of corruption reports involving civil servants clearly indicates that incidents of corruption are thankfully few and far between. Nevertheless, we will continue to work with the ICAC to monitor the situation and take appropriate measures to stamp out all forms of corruption in the civil service.
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