ENG-2003 — Page 396

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PUBLIC ORDER

measures were successful, with no members of its staff contracting the disease through their daily work.

Independent Commission Against Corruption

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is a dedicated anti- corruption agency independent of the Civil Service. Its Commissioner is directly accountable to the Chief Executive of the HKSAR.

During the year, the ICAC continued to keep corruption effectively in check through its three-pronged strategy of investigation, prevention and community education.

The agency has continued to win international recognition. For example, at an international anti-corruption conference held in Hong Kong in January, the Secretary General of Interpol, Mr Ronald Noble, lauded Hong Kong as 'the anti-corruption capital' of the world and the ICAC as 'the No. 1 anti-corruption agency'.

A World Bank publication on fighting corruption in East Asia launched during the year also commended Hong Kong's comprehensive approach in tackling corruption in both the public and private sectors as well as its partnership with the private sector in weeding out graft.

In April, Hong Kong joined the Anti-Corruption Action Plan for Asia-Pacific jointly launched by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), signifying the Government's long- term commitment to the anti-corruption cause.

An annual survey conducted by an independent research company in 2003 showed that the ICAC continued to enjoy a high degree of public confidence as an overwhelming 99 per cent of respondents expressed support for the anti-graft body.

Corruption Situation

In 2003, the ICAC received 4 310 corruption reports (excluding election-related complaints), a slight drop of 1 per cent over the previous year. Of these, 1 541 were made against government departments, down from 1 638 in 2002. There were 2 472 and 297 reports concerning the private sector and public bodies respectively, compared with 2 403 and 330 in 2002. Pursuable reports accounted for 76 per cent of all corruption reports.

A total of 711 election-related reports were received during the year, 666 of which were pursuable. They included 564 reports relating to the District Council Election and 132 about the Village Representative Election, which came under the regulation of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance for the first time.

Investigation

In 2003, the Operations Department the ICAC's investigative arm — continued to pursue a proactive strategy in unearthing corruption cases, rendering corruption a high-risk crime. It maintained close ties with disciplined services through Operational Liaison Groups. Liaison channels were also established with government departments, regulatory bodies and key industries for making joint efforts against corruption.

Major cases detected during the year included corruption-facilitated letter of credit frauds, investment and bank frauds, contract and tendering malpractices, fraudulent