Pride of place in the office of Ombudsman Alice Tai Yuen-ying is given to a little black pig. It sits on the coffee-table, elevated by a platform, waiting to be presented to a reluctant recipient.
'We felt we ought to have a black pig award,' says Ms Tai. 'It is for departments which really get up our collective noses - people who are chronically incompetent. If you do poorly, you get a black pig. It has not been awarded yet, but we have a few contenders in mind. I think they know who they are.'
Ms Tai has spent the past five years receiving complaints from the public and probing the workings of the bureaucracy. Whether looking at housing, hospitals, schools or prisons, her task is to seek out maladministration in government. Last week, she became the first Ombudsman to be reappointed. A second five-year term now lies ahead.
Dealing with a daily diet of complaints is not to everyone's taste, but Ms Tai seems to relish the position. 'People come and go,' she says, with a smile. 'I tell my staff that dealing with gripes all the time is not good for you. It will warp your personality. But if you are that sort of pervert, you might like to stay for 30 years.'
The position as chief recipient of allegations against the government is growing in importance. Last year, the Ombudsman's office says it had received a record 4,382 complaints over a 12-month period. Similar figures are expected this year.
Ms Tai's appointment, however, has been controversial from the start. She is married to Robert Footman, the Commissioner for Transport, and spent many years as a senior civil servant. This has led to suggestions that Mr Tung hand-picked her because he wanted someone who would go soft on his administration.