Graft-busters have pledged to step up scrutiny of building management, fearing corruption in the industry will worsen as buildings age.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption says crooked managers are grasping the opportunity to extract bribes from companies called in for maintenance projects on ageing structures.
The situation could get worse as the government steps up pressure on owners of dilapidated buildings to make repairs.
Complaints about the building management industry have surged since 2001, and they now account for more than a third of complaints about private-sector corruption.
The industry generated 902 complaints last year, or 41 per cent of the 2,176 complaints received about the private sector.
This was up from 696 in 2001, although it was slightly down from the 933 received in 2003. There were 809 complaints about the industry in 2002.
'Partly due to the ageing of multi-storey buildings in Hong Kong and inadequate understanding of the relevant laws, this sector has been taking up about 40 per cent of all private sector [complaints],' said the acting head of the graft busters' building management task force, Corinna Wong Kit-mui.
