Amid mounting public concern over the ICAC's flagging performance, yesterday's arrest of three high-profile corruption suspects has renewed faith in the graft-buster's abilities.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption, suspected of having lost its edge amid staff shortages and failures in its investigations, yesterday announced the arrests of tycoon brothers Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Raymond Kwok Ping-luen, and former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan - its most high-profile catch so far.
However, a blot on its recent triumph was the absence of Daniel Li Ming-chak, deputy commissioner and head of the ICAC's operations unit, who was off-duty yesterday.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, who extended Li's tenure at the commission amid dwindling staff numbers, was on leave starting yesterday until next Tuesday, a government announcement said.
This follows the arrest last week of Sun Hung Kai Properties executive director Thomas Chan Kui-yuen, who was a subject in an ICAC investigation into suspected bribery.
The ICAC, set up in 1974 to combat worsening corruption in the public sector, has seen many unsuccessful campaigns in recent years, including the case against TVB executive Stephen Chan Chi-wan, who was accused of fraud and corruption in 2010 but acquitted of all charges last year.
The Chan case seemed to continue a trend of failed investigations into the entertainment industry that began in 2003, when it arrested 22 people in a scam involving taking bribes in exchange for music awards. Those arrested included showbiz mogul Albert Yeung Sau-shing, several pop singers and TVB officials.