Rat-catchers off the trail, says legislator
WHEN Chim Pui-chung published his manifesto for the Legislative Council's financial services constituency last August, he pledged he would step down if he failed to win an amnesty for 'rat traders' within six months of his election.
Six months on, there has been no word from either the Government or the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) about an amnesty for brokers who skimmed from their clients.
But the outspoken legislator is staying put, claiming the problem has basically been solved.
'What I have promised is to fight for an amnesty, I have no power to force the Government to give one.
'On the day I was elected, I talked to the Financial Secretary, the Secretary for the Financial Services, and the chairman of the SFC about the issue,' he said.
Mr Chim said there was no sign the authorities were investigating any case about rat trading before November 1993, when the SFC announced a code of practice.
'In that sense, the problem is solved and my election promise has been kept,' he said.
He had written to all voters in his Financial Services constituency over his performance soon after the election, asking if anyone wanted him to quit over the rat trading issue.
But Mr Chim stressed that if the authorities tried to take action on any pre-November 1993 rat trading case, he would apply for a judicial review.
The practice of rat trading involves profiting from share-price differentials at the client's expense.
