ENG-2013 — Page 332

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Public Order

Independent Commission Against Corruption

Hong Kong prides itself on its clean government, a society intolerant of corruption, and a level playing field for business. The Heritage Foundation's 2013 Index of Economic Freedom recognised 'a strong tradition of minimum tolerance of corruption' in Hong Kong, while the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index found corruption is considered one of the least problematic factor for doing business in the territory. Of 177 places polled, Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2013 ranked Hong Kong the 15th least corrupt.

A holistic strategy of enforcement, prevention and education keeps corruption well under control. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) fights corruption impartially and effectively. Its independent status is guaranteed under the Basic Law.

In 2013, the ICAC received 2,652 corruption complaints (excluding election-related complaints), a decrease of 33 per cent from 2012. Among these complaints, 62 per cent concerned the private sector while government departments and public bodies respectively took up 30 and 8 per cent. A number of cases involving senior officials and prominent businessmen attracted considerable attention in 2013 and demonstrated that the ICAC enforces the law without fear or favour, regardless of the rank and status of those involved.

The 2013 ICAC Annual Survey found 95.3 per cent of respondents expressed support for the ICAC. The average corruption tolerance level remained low, with a mean score of 0.8 (with 0 representing total rejection and 10 representing total acceptance). The percentage of respondents willing to report corruption increased steadily from 75.9 per cent in 2010 to 80.6 per cent in 2013.

Enforcement

At year's end, 1,519 cases, including 345 related to elections, were under investigation. In 2013, 220 people were prosecuted and 28 were cautioned for minor offences on the advice of the Department of Justice. Prosecutions of major public interest included cases involving alleged corruption and misconduct by senior government officers, corrupt and illegal conduct at elections, and commercial fraud facilitated by corruption. Of the completed prosecutions, 81 per cent of cases resulted in convictions.

Most of the 559 election-related complaints received in 2013 related to the 2011 Election Committee Subsector Elections and the 2012 Legislative Council Election. To date, 48 persons have been convicted of offences relating to the 2011 District Council Election.

Prevention and Education

In 2013, corruption prevention guides were tailor-made for food assistance service providers (commonly known as 'food banks'), the Chinese medicine profession and the banking industry, and an e-learning package on law and professional ethics was produced for banking. practitioners. To assist those conducting cross-boundary business, the ICAC distributed a guidebook on anti-corruption laws in Hong Kong, the Mainland and Macao to small and medium enterprises through a network of business chambers and associations.

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