Former chief graft-buster Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun said yesterday she was 'hindered' in her attempt to extend the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance to include senior officials.
The ex-commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption made the claim in a Commercial Radio interview.
She was recalling her tenure from October 2006 to June 2007 under the administration of Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and the then chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan, who are both now facing corruption probes.
'When I wanted to extend the coverage of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance I faced hindrance. It upset me a lot,' Law said in the interview, without giving further details or revealing the source of the hindrance.
Hui was arrested last week over alleged collusion with brothers Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Raymond Kwok Ping-luen, joint chairmen of the Sun Hung Kai Properties empire. Tsang is also being investigated by the ICAC for potential conflicts of interest by accepting favours from tycoon friends.
The ICAC commissioner, who is appointed by the chief executive, is directly accountable to the city's leader. But a former ICAC investigator, who declined to be named, said generally it was the Corruption Prevention Department of the commission that was responsible for legal amendments. He said the department would prepare an amendment proposal for the director of administration, who would seek advice from the Department of Justice.
If both parties agreed, the administrative wing would draft a bill to the Legislative Council for readings.