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SCMP Reporter

THE Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) last night admitted procedures for ensuring the integrity of directorate officers were flawed and in need of an overhaul.

  Commissioner Bertrand de Speville said he was not satisfied with the manner in which informant relationships were scrutinised.

  He said he would insist that directorate-grade officers, previously exempted from internal guidelines on informants, would have their personal files reviewed on a regular basis, giving them identical status to junior ranks.

 The reviews would be conducted by a more senior ICAC officer.

  Mr de Speville said his concern had become acute in the wake of the sacking of Alex Tsui Ka-kit.

  However, he believed it was prudent to wait for the Security Panel to complete its report before undertaking the changes.

  'The system let us down,' he said.

  'Our procedures are perfectly satisfactory for handling informants but there is one area where we have not got a satisfactory situation.

  'That is in the rare case of a directorate officer having an informant.

  'We have to make sure they now come under the same system - there is no reason that they should not be subject.'   Mr de Speville refused to say how many senior officers had informers or the ranks of those who gleaned intelligence.

  He said the new system would begin shortly.

  The panel report advocated a 'more systematic arrangement' for the management of informers. It also demanded clarification of the use of the words 'informer' and 'informant'.

  Mr Tsui had said 'informers' were persons of dubious character and what distinguished them from an 'informant' was that they were paid for information.

  However, the report rejected this assertion - saying the terms were often used interchangeably.

  During the inquiry, legislators repeatedly attacked the ICAC's internal staff vetting procedures.

  The report noted Mr Tsui had sought permission from a senior officer to initiate a professional relationship with Henfrey Tin Sau-kwok - a man he had earlier described as ominous and undesirable - for the purpose of obtaining intelligence on corruption.

  Mr Tsui was then advised to open an informant's file on his meetings with Mr Tin, a Boxing Association official.

  But, despite seeing him regularly since starting the file, Mr Tsui recorded seeing Mr Tin on only four occasions. It was revealed in the hearing that this file was kept in Mr Tsui's personal custody and was not subject to scrutiny.

  The hearing heard evidence that five days after Mr Tsui opened the file, he wrote a memorandum stating that a company, which employed Mr Tin, was well-established despite being suspected of cigarette smuggling.

  The report concluded Mr Tsui's memo diverted attention away from this company, but considered it could not be established whether he had intended to sidetrack an important investigation.

  Legislators concluded Mr Tin was a 'shady and unreliable witness'.

  They said Mr Tsui disregarded ICAC long-standing orders, of which he was fully aware, in expanding this relationship.

  'Given Mr Tin's shady activities and associations, the panel is surprised that Mr Tsui, being an experienced directorate officer of the ICAC and fully aware of Mr Tin's informant status, considered Mr Tin a friend and honest businessman and entered into a personal relationship with him,' the report stated.

  'The panel is therefore not surprised at the Commissioner's serious doubts over their relationship and his loss of trust in Mr Tsui as a result of this.'   SECURITY PANEL RECOMMENDATIONS The Government should review its experience from this incident and consider how accountability on issues of public concern can be addressed; The appropriateness of Section 8 (2) of the ICAC Ordinance in the present-day situation should be reviewed; The Government should review whether the ICAC should undertake investigation of criminal-related allegations against its own staff; Bearing in mind the provisions of the ICAC Ordinance, the extent to which it is appropriate (if at all) for the ICAC to investigate non-corruption criminal cases should be reviewed; The ICAC should consider instituting a more systematic arrangement to ensure proper management of information coming from and in relation to informers/informants. Also, clear definitions of 'informers' and informants' should be drafted; Consideration should be given to drawing up clear guidelines to ensure that there is no conflict of interest between the personal activities and the public duties of ICAC staff; The ICAC should consider introducing measures to ensure consistency in the conduct of disciplinary proceedings and in the modes of punishment within the department; Since the question of racism within the ICAC has attracted public concern, the ICAC has a duty to look into the matter and be ever- vigilant in its preventive measures in this respect.



Informant guidelines must apply to all: ICAC