Some graft fighters are overzealous in their efforts to obtain successful prosecutions of bribery cases, says the chairman of a committee that oversees the ICAC.
Speaking after three investigators were jailed for coaching a key witness to provide false evidence, Michael Sze Cho-cheung said many investigators had the concept that achievement was judged by successful prosecutions.
'I don't echo this view,' Sze told the South China Morning Post. 'Our job is to thoroughly investigate cases and present details of the cases to the Department of Justice, and seek an independent decision from the department on whether to bring a prosecution or not. But of course, we are human beings, so we have three unfortunate colleagues.'
Sze, chairman of the Operations Review Committee of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, who spoke at an anti-graft conference yesterday, was referring to chief investigator Kevin Cho Wing-nin and investigators Ben Chan Kai-hung and John Au Kim-fung.
The three were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 18 to 30 months in the District Court last week for coaching a key witness in a HK$100 million fraud case.
'When one colleague has been focusing very much on a case, very often there is a big temptation to do more,' Sze said. '[One might think] 'I have worked very hard, how can I nail the suspect?' This is overzealousness. It is a problem that we have to always remind ourselves about.'
