New head of Hong Kong private sector unit at graftbuster says personnel crisis won’t compromise credibility
He also says the ICAC, which has been hit by troubles at the top since the departure of first female operations chief Rebecca Li, will stay impartial amid fears of political interference
The new chief of the graftbuster unit that investigates corruption in the private sector has dismissed fears the personnel crisis at the watchdog will undermine its credibility.
Ricky Chu Man-kin, who took up the post of director of investigation (private sector) yesterday, also reassured the public that “external influence” could play no role in the work of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
Chu also said it was too early to comment on whether staff morale was worse than six years ago when he left the ICAC to head police force watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Council.
His appointment comes as the ICAC is facing a series of troubles at the top. On July 29, the body announced the acting head of its investigative arm – the operations department – was quitting, but then within a matter of hours it announced Ricky Yau Shu-chun had withdrawn his resignation.
This followed the departure of the agency’s first female head of operations, Rebecca Li Bo-lan, last month, amid rumours of soft-pedaling in a probe into a controversial HK$50 million deal between Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Australian engineering firm UGL.