It has been a time for reflection for staff of the Independent Commission Against Corruption ahead of the official opening of its new headquarters in North Point tomorrow.
For some officers, flipping through the old records moved from their former headquarters in Admiralty has revealed how much their work and society have changed over the past few decades.
Joseph Lee Yat-sau, the ICAC's group head of the corruption prevention department, said that decades ago people needed to wait a long time to get a driving licence or a government flat.
There was little transparency in the application process and the public also did not know how to file their complaints. In many cases those in positions of power asked for bribes in return for a more efficient delivery of services.
'Reading these reports makes me understand how we had to fight hard in the past for things that are taken for granted today,' he said.
Steven Lam Kin-ming, principal investigator of the operations department, said that when he was working in medical insurance in the 1980s, he came across many exaggerated or dishonest insurance claims.
