ENG-2005 — Page 399

Public Order | 345

Election and the Election Committee Sub-sector By-election held in 2005, and the Village Representatives Elections held in 2003.

Investigation

The ICAC's Operations Department pursues a proactive and robust strategy in unearthing corruption cases, rendering it a high-risk crime. The department maintains close ties with other disciplined services, government departments, regulatory bodies and key industries to tackle corruption.

Major cases detected during the year included corruption-facilitated financial frauds, impropriety in the listing of companies and malpractice in the tendering of and bidding for contracts.

As at the end of 2005, the Operations Department's caseload stood at 1 361. The increasing sophistication and complexity of many of these cases has brought growing challenges in investigations. During the year, 356 persons were prosecuted and 51 cautioned in accordance with the advice of the Department of Justice.

Prevention

The Corruption Prevention Department has a statutory duty to examine the practices and procedures of government departments and public bodies to identify loopholes conducive to corrupt practices and recommend measures to minimise such risks.

The department gives priority to areas of concern revealed in corruption investigations or identified through consultation with government departments. During the year, the department conducted 96 detailed corruption prevention reviews, with recommendations for improvement on various areas, including law enforcement, public procurement, outsourcing, licensing systems and implementation of public works.

Apart from detailed reviews, the department also gave advice on 305 occasions to help government departments and public bodies build in appropriate preventive measures when formulating new legislation, policies or procedures.

Training workshops were conducted for

conducted for government and public sector employees to enhance awareness of corruption-prone areas and facilitate the implementation of preventive measures.

The department's Advisory Services Group provides free and confidential corruption prevention advice to private sector organisations on request. It offered such advice on 367 occasions during the year to help these organisations strengthen internal control systems and also organised workshops for various trades and industries to promote best practices.

Community Education

The Community Relations Department is responsible for educating the public against the evils of corruption and enlisting the community's support in the anti- corruption drive, through face-to-face liaison and the mass media.