Independent review of ex anti-graft chief Timothy Tong's spending a 'whitewash'

An independent committee will examine claims that the former head of the ICAC, Timothy Tong Hin-ming, spent lavish sums of public money entertaining mainland officials, the chief executive announced yesterday.

The four-member committee, reporting directly to Leung Chun-ying, will also look at the regulations governing official entertainment.

Its establishment follows revelations that Tong spent hundreds of thousands of dollars from the public purse on receptions, gifts and duty visits during his five-year tenure as commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Some of the spending exceeded official limits but was approved by Tong himself.

Critics said the committee was likely to produce little more than a whitewash and should have been headed by a judge.