Failed chief executive candidate Henry Tang Ying-yen says illegal structures at his property in Kowloon Tong have become the subject of an investigation by graft-busters, despite his co-operation with buildings authorities to comply with the law.
Tang said he feared the case, along with a recent crackdown on illegal structures at a factory owned by his in-laws, would give the public the perception that there was an attempt to 'settle scores' with him after the chief executive election.
The involvement of the Independent Commission Against Corruption came as a disappointment, he said yesterday on the radio programme of political commentator Albert Cheng King-hon, after returning from a holiday in America.
'I have been trying my best to work with the Buildings Department, hoping to obtain approval as soon as possible to undo [what was built illegally],' Tang said. 'Many professionals are dealing with it now, so the issue involves the department and is none of the ICAC's business.'
He said the anti-graft agency had not contacted him about the matter, but he knew they were investigating other people linked to the works. Tang later clarified that he did not feel anyone was settling scores with him, nor did he think any of his supporters would be 'persecuted', because 'the incoming administration should be occupied with the city's economic, social and political developments'.
In February, government surveyors confirmed that a Tang family home at 7 York Road, under the name of his wife, Lisa Kuo Yu-chin, sat atop a 2,250 sq ft unapproved basement. Reports emerged last month that the ICAC was checking an interior design firm that had worked on the house. The investigation was believed to be related to whether anyone had forged documents to defraud the department over the structure of the house and had accepted an advantage in the process.