Exco's Lau Wong-fat blames staff for failure to declare property deals

Executive Councillor Lau Wong-fat last night blamed his staff for his failure to declare three property transactions that critics say constituted a conflict of interest with his cabinet role. He said they had misunderstood the mechanism for making declarations.

Despite Lau issuing a public apology for what he called an oversight, and being reprimanded by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, there were calls for further clarification to dispel the public's concerns.

Democratic Party vice-chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing, who has written to Tsang demanding an investigation, urged the government and Lau to give a full account.

'An apology alone is not acceptable,' she said.

Professor Ma Ngok of Chinese University said the explanations by Lau and Tsang were inadequate.

In a statement, Lau admitted failing to declare the purchase of three houses in Yuen Long in April through Carofaith Investment, in which he holds a 40 per cent stake, because of the 'misunderstanding' by his staff.

'The failure in making a timely declaration was an oversight and was not a cover-up. I sincerely apologise to the public for this matter,' said Lau, leader of the Heung Yee Kuk, which represents rural interests.