Carrie Lam denies interfering in CE illegal structure probe

Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Wednesday she did not interfere in the investigation of the illegal structures problems involving her boss Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

Questions were raised about the roles of Lam and the Buildings Department after the department revealed that it had noticed a suspicious brick wall sealing up an unauthorised extension in one of Leung’s houses on The Peak in late June.

The position of the wall also did not match the original approved plans. But the department had not released the information until early this week.

Media reports have also suggested that the department’s senior management had stopped a frontline officer following up on a “suspicious” wall.

When the department first investigated Leung’s house in June, Lam was then development minister and boss of the department. Leung then was chief executive-in-waiting, preparing to take office in July.

Lam, responding to a barrel of questions on the issue after a Legislative Council meeting, said the Buildings Departments carried out enforcement independently and impartially under the law. Lam added that not even a principal official had any power to interfere.

“There is no room for anyone from outside the Buildings Department, not even a principal official, to interfere in enforcement actions on any case,” she said.

Lam said she and the development bureau did no more than receive reports from the department on its probe in Leung’s case, as in other cases involving senior government officials or celebrities.

“The role of my bureau was no more than being notified about the actions taken by the Buildings Department, some news releases and replies to media enquiries [about the case],” she said. “I did not take part or interfere in any enforcement action,” she said.