Legislators reject investigation by the government
A Legco panel yesterday voted unanimously for an independent inquiry into a senior civil servant's post-retirement employment and whether her job led to a conflict of interest.
Members of the public service panel rejected the outcome of an investigation conducted by Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong Wing-ping into former deputy housing director Elaine Chung Lai-kwok's job with Hong Kong Ferry. They said he was too lenient with the retired official.
But Mr Wong told the panel it was time to move on and discuss ways to tighten the rules governing post-retirement employment for senior civil servants.
Ms Chung was accused of having a conflict of interest in promoting Henderson Land's bid for the West Kowloon cultural-hub project last year. She had been cleared by the government to work for Hong Kong Ferry, a Henderson affiliate.
The government inquiry concluded her actions were unacceptable and had undermined public confidence in the integrity of the civil service. However, the Civil Service Bureau said the approval for her to engage in cultural work for Hong Kong Ferry was not wrong.
