The man responsible for drafting new laws for Hong Kong will leave his job this month with the government still looking for a successor.
Law draftsman Tony Yen Yuen-ho's job was advertised internally in October, but no government lawyer was considered suitable. The search has now been extended overseas and to the private sector. Mr Yen is paid around HK$160,000 a month.
A source in the Department of Justice said Mr Yen's aides, Gilbert Mo Sik-keung and Nilmini Dissanayake would hold the job in rotation over the next six months.
'It is probable that an international recruitment will be launched,' the source said.
Mr Yen had offered to stay on for one or two years if needed, and the decision to let him leave suggests Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung wants to solve a serious succession problem sooner rather than later.
Of five directors and 16 deputies in the department's five divisions, two-thirds will turn 60 by 2012.