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SCMP Reporter

A senior police officer is to join the Independent Commission Against Corruption in the highest-ranking switch between the law enforcement bodies for a quarter of a century.
Chief Inspector David Williams, 44,  will join the ICAC's operations department as a chief investigator. Insiders say the move is intended to better equip the organisation to fight corruption.
Williams (pictured), originally from England, is a former chairman of the Overseas Inspectors' Association. The move is expected to take place in the next few months.
Police and anti-corruption sources have confirmed that Williams will be the most senior investigative officer to have been recruited directly from the police force to the ICAC's frontline anti-crime operations in the past 25 years. 
There has been no love lost between the crime-fighting organisations over the years. The anti-graft body was set up in 1974 by the colonial administration to root out rampant corruption in the police force.  
Williams' recruitment comes in the wake of the departure of a number of veteran investigators from the ICAC's operations department in recent years.
'An investigator's job is much more difficult, more complex and more transnational these days,' a person familiar with the hiring of Williams said. 'Not only do we need different types of people with experience but different types of experience. This is a positive move and this will be an ongoing process.' 
The seasoned detective was hired after a rare internal recruitment process within the government that began in June. 
An ICAC spokesman confirmed a chief investigator had been recruited through the exercise. 'The investigator has profound experience in detecting crimes and is recruited from a local law enforcement agency,' he said, adding that a total of 36 applications for the post had been received. 
In the early years of the ICAC many senior officers were recruited from British police forces and co-opted from the Hong Kong Police as the anti-graft body tried to establish a bridgehead against syndicated corruption in the force and in other public bodies.  
Even former police commissioner Tsang Yam-pui  was seconded to the ICAC for two years in the 1970s. 
Since the 1980s, very few police officers have been directly recruited to the ICAC's investigation arm. 
Two years ago, police physical trainer Mark Sharp was hired.  
Tony Liu Kit-ming,  chairman of the Hong Kong Police Inspectors Association,  said Williams would be a loss to the force: 'He is a person with good analytical ability, with the heart to help colleagues in the force.' 
Junior Police Officers' Association chairman Wong Ching  described Williams  as a smart and effective detective and said it was natural for officers to consider career development in other law enforcement agencies. 
However, some officers who have sought help from associations have some worries over old rivalries between the two bodies. 'It is like you have confessed to the priest, then later realise the priest has changed to another job,' said an officer who refused to be named.  
In recent years, the anti-graft body started recruiting experts from different professions for its investigation arm, including accountants and information technology experts, to deal with the increasing complexity of corruption cases. 
The 966-strong operations department is the ICAC's core unit. Investigators are employed on contract terms renewed every 21/2 years until retirement at 60. The monthly pay for a chief investigator - the rank equivalent to superintendent in the police force - ranges from HK$69,275 to HK$86,515. A police chief inspector receives HK$64,585 to HK$77,625. 
In recent years experienced graft fighters have left, retired or been headhunted by the private sector. A well-known graft-buster, Jeremy Lo Kwok-chung,  left last month for personal reasons. He led the investigation into former police senior superintendent Sin Kam-wah,  who was convicted of accepting free sexual services from prostitutes in 2003. The case triggered widespread public concern about the conduct of some senior police and led to a clash between the police and the ICAC.



Senior policeman switches over to graft-busters