Former development minister Mak Chai-kwong apologised to the government and the public yesterday for the inconvenience his housing allowance scandal had caused and asked for peace to handle the matter - which may yet end up in court.
Mak also thanked Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor for her support, after she was criticised for expressing 'full confidence' in him just days before his arrest on Thursday by the Independent Commission Against Corruption for abusing housing perks in the 1980s.
His comments yesterday were his first in public since his 40-hour grilling by graft-busters, which ended with his release just before midnight on Friday.
No charges have yet been brought against anyone involved in the case. Mak's wife, along with assistant director of highways Tsang King-man and his wife, were also detained.
'My resignation will definitely affect the new government which has just assumed office,' Mak said at government headquarters in Admiralty.
'Because of the inconvenience caused by this matter, I apologise to the chief executive, chief secretary for administration, civil servants and Hong Kong citizens.'