XN000022-1988-07-20 — Page 9

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 1988

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'BUILT IN SAFETY VALVE' REQUIRED

THE COMMISSIONER FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINTS BILL 1988 SHOULD HAVE A "BUILT IN SAFETY VALVE", THE HON HUI FIN-FAT SAID IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY).

HE SAID THIS WOULD ENABLE COMPLAINANTS AGAINST THE POLICE AND ICAC TO APPEAL TO THE COMMISSIONER IF THEY WERE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE RULINGS OF THE POLICE COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE AND THE ICAC COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE.

RESERVATIONS,

SPEAKING IN SUPPORT OF THE BILL, BUT NOT WITHOUT MR HUI SAID HE FULLY APPRECIATED 'THE NEED TO PROTFOT THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF THE ICAC AND THE COMPLAINTS AGAINST POLICE OFFICE.

BUT HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE LACK OF FINAL APPEAL AGAINST ARBITRARY RULINGS IMPOSED BY THEIR MONITORING BODIES, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF COVER-UP OF MALPRACTICES.

"INSTEAD OF ADVOCATING THE REPLACEMENT OF THE TWO COMMITTEES BY THE COMMISSIONER, I WOULD CALL FOR SOME STATUTORY THE COMMISSIONER TO SERVE AS A LAST RESORT,' HE SAID.

SAFEGUARD FOR

"THAT IS, COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE POLICE AND ICAC SHOULD BE LODGED IN THE FIRST INSTANCE TO THE EXISTING CHANNELS: HOWEVER, IF THE COMPLAINANT IS NOT SATISFIED WITH THE OUTCOME, HE CAN APPEAL то THE COMMISSIONER FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINTS."

HE BELIEVED THAT BY MAKING AVAILABLE A SECOND CREDIBILITY OF THE MONITORING BODIES WOULD BE INCREASED.

OPINION, THE

MR HU1 MAINTAINED THAT THE COMMISSIONER FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINTS, A SYSTEM WHICH PROMISED THAT THE DOOR OF THE REDRESS SYSTEM WOULD BE OPEN TO ANYONE WHO KNOCKED AT IT, MUST GO ALL THE WAY TO GIVE BLANKET COVERAGE OF ALL CIVIL SERVANTS AND EMPLOYEES OF QUAS I – GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC BODIES, INCLUDING THE POLICE AND ICAC.

"THE COMMISSIONER SHOULD BE ABLE TO PURSUE IN THE INTEREST OF THE PUBLIC AN INVESTIGATION WHICH HAS REVEALED ADEQUATE EVIDENCE OF MALADMINISTRATION, EVEN IF THE COMPLAINANT HAS WITHDRAWN HIS CASE DUE TO CONFLICT OF INTEREST," HE SAID.

REGULARLY AND

HE ALSO SUGGESTED THAT THE COMMISSIONER FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINTS SHOULD EVALUATE COMPLAINTS

RECOMMEND FOLLOW-UP ACTION THAT WOULD PREVENT THE RE-OCCURRENCE OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS.

WITHOUT AN ALL-EMBRACING SCOPE OF AUTHORITY AND ADEQUATE PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO BACK HIM

UP, THE COMMISSIONER MIGHT EASILY DIMINISH INTO ANOTHER ONE OF THE EXISTING COMPLAINT CHANNELS, IN WHICH CASE THE $6.3 MILLION OUTLAY INVOLVED WOULD BE WASTED.

/MR HUI