The Polytechnic University in Hong Kong has defended its controversial monthly allowance for its president, Poon Chung-kwong, following criticisms of the huge amount involved.
The government audit report released this week revealed that Professor Poon, who has a monthly salary of $181,700, is also entitled to a monthly cash allowance of $177,000 per month. The total he gets each month is the highest among all university heads.
Excluding the allowance, Professor Poon's salary is on a par with his counterparts at the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and City University.
Six universities top-up their heads' salaries either in the form of higher pay or by way of cash allowance using non-government funds, according to the audit report. The top-up amount ranges from 3 per cent to 98 per cent of the salaries.
HKUST president Paul Chu Ching-wu is known to be paid about $220,000 a month, without any extra allowance.
In a statement issued last night, PolyU said the hefty allowance for Professor Poon was in lieu of housing benefits and holiday allowance.