https://www.scmp.com/rss/523376/feed Jack Chan Jick-chi, the Ombudsman of Hong Kong since April 2024. He is a seasoned senior government official, serving as a directorate officer across numerous bureaux and departments, including the Civil Service and Home Affairs, where he was Under Secretary and Acting Secretary. His work at the Office of the Ombudsman focuses on enhancing mediation, fostering interdepartmental collaboration, and cultivating a positive complaint culture. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial There is understandable frustration about a lack of progress fighting animal cruelty in Hong Kong. Efforts to update existing laws against animal cruelty are long overdue in a city where pet ownership and public concern about animal welfare are strong. Now there is a spotlight on enforcement. A report released by the Office of the Ombudsman underscored the need for officials to respond to growing public concern and international trends regarding animal welfare. Existing procedures were described... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3350817/amid-growing-concern-hong-kong-should-move-faster-animal-cruelty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3350817/amid-growing-concern-hong-kong-should-move-faster-animal-cruelty?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 23:15:07 +0000 Connor Mycroft Connor Mycroft Hong Kong’s ombudsman has urged the government to empower conservation officers to enter people’s homes to investigate suspected animal cruelty cases, describing existing procedures as “ineffective” with less than 1 per cent of reported cases resulting in prosecutions. A report released on Thursday on the Office of the Ombudsman’s latest direct investigation operation also called for strengthening penalties against illegal animal traps, describing current fines as “no deterrence” against the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3350359/give-officials-more-power-probe-suspected-animal-cruelty-cases-watchdog?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3350359/give-officials-more-power-probe-suspected-animal-cruelty-cases-watchdog?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:22:15 +0000 Fiona Sun Fiona Sun Hong Kong’s ombudsman has found that the Medical Council’s complaint-handling processes are excessively lengthy and plagued by a persistent backlog of cases, urging the watchdog and authorities to hasten procedures to uphold public confidence. The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday released its investigation findings into the effectiveness of administrative support provided by the secretariat under the Department of Health for the council’s complaint handling and the government’s regulatory... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3342547/hong-kong-ombudsman-slams-medical-councils-excessively-long-complaints-system?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3342547/hong-kong-ombudsman-slams-medical-councils-excessively-long-complaints-system?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 12:19:15 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial Slope safety monitoring is rightly under scrutiny after an investigation by the Hong Kong ombudsman turned up an alarming number of landslides. The city must redouble efforts to reclaim its reputation for good management of such sites after several government-managed slopes were found to have repeatedly failed in recent years. The Office of the Ombudsman released a report on January 8, based on its review of nine serious landslides at man-made slopes since 2008. Four incidents happened along... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3340792/hong-kongs-slope-safety-monitoring-must-keep-pace-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3340792/hong-kongs-slope-safety-monitoring-must-keep-pace-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 22:45:07 +0000 Ambrose Li Ambrose Li The Office of the Ombudsman has raised concerns about frequent landslides occurring at the Hong Kong government’s man-made slopes, highlighting that one location had four such incidents at different sections over five years. In a direct investigation report released on Thursday, the office reviewed nine serious landslides that have occurred since 2008. It found that most slopes with repeated landslides were either not included in a specific monitoring programme or deemed relatively low... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3339166/hong-kong-ombudsman-raises-concerns-over-repeated-landslides-man-made-slopes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3339166/hong-kong-ombudsman-raises-concerns-over-repeated-landslides-man-made-slopes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 07:56:39 +0000 Elizabeth Cheung Elizabeth Cheung Hong Kong’s Department of Health is under mounting pressure to explain its role in a 15-year delay in the handling of a complaint involving an alleged blunder that left a child disabled for life. Calls for answers intensified on Wednesday as the city’s ombudsman announced the launch of an investigation into the procedures and mechanisms employed by the secretariat under the department’s Boards and Councils Office in handling complaints related to alleged blunders and registration of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3331598/hong-kongs-handling-medical-complaints-probed-after-15-year-case-delay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3331598/hong-kongs-handling-medical-complaints-probed-after-15-year-case-delay?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Nov 2025 07:10:02 +0000 Alice Wu Alice Wu On the surface, things may seem to be going well for the Hong Kong government. However, dig a little deeper, and things do not look so good. Two recent news items have been particularly damning. First was the discovery that two government-approved providers of mandatory basic safety courses had violated conditions and had been suspended by the Labour Department. The second was the latest ombudsman investigation that revealed care homes and facilities had failed to deliver respite services to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3328535/gaping-holes-hong-kong-government-oversight-need-be-plugged?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3328535/gaping-holes-hong-kong-government-oversight-need-be-plugged?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Oct 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Leopold Chen Leopold Chen Hong Kong social welfare authorities should strengthen supervision of care homes and review their resource allocation, the ombudsman has urged, after its investigation found some facilities were unduly selective when admitting applicants and were underused or even completely unused. The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday also criticised the “lukewarm attitude” of the institutions in providing help and information, adding that the overall utilisation rate of services was persistently low and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3328381/hong-kong-ombudsman-slams-poor-attitude-resource-use-care-homes-after-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3328381/hong-kong-ombudsman-slams-poor-attitude-resource-use-care-homes-after-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 09:25:20 +0000 Ng Kang-chung Ng Kang-chung Drivers have been assured they will receive clearer information on real-time tolls at Hong Kong’s Western Harbour Crossing after a watchdog’s investigation identified shortcomings in the toll management system and inadequate staff training. In a report released on Friday, the ombudsman acknowledged that these deficiencies could cause some motorists to pay more than expected. The investigation was prompted by three complaints from drivers who said they were charged higher-than-anticipated tolls... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3327812/hong-kong-ombudsman-flags-toll-management-flaws-western-harbour-crossing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3327812/hong-kong-ombudsman-flags-toll-management-flaws-western-harbour-crossing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Oct 2025 10:19:38 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial Much has been made of the city’s emergence as an international centre for dispute resolution. First came the launch by 33 signatories of a Hong Kong-based legal body for resolving international disputes by mediation before a neutral third party; soon, hopefully, this will be followed by neutral mediation of disputes in sport, after a two-year pilot programme. Meanwhile, the ombudsman has taken mediation to a new level in his role as an independent watchdog on public administration. Since Jack... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3324309/mediation-between-residents-and-officials-can-only-benefit-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3324309/mediation-between-residents-and-officials-can-only-benefit-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 22:45:07 +0000 Leopold Chen Leopold Chen Hong Kong’s ombudsman has established an international academy to help prevent maladministration, as a minister urged officials to respond to residents’ complaints with an “open mindset” and turn them into momentum for improvement. The Hong Kong International Ombudsman Academy would take the form of an online platform offering thematic events for government departments, public organisations and overseas watchdog organisations, officials said on Monday. “The academy provides an interactive... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3323105/hong-kong-ombudsman-creates-global-academy-help-fight-sloppy-administration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3323105/hong-kong-ombudsman-creates-global-academy-help-fight-sloppy-administration?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 12:47:29 +0000 Natalie Wong Natalie Wong The number of direct investigations led by Hong Kong’s ombudsman has dropped by nearly 60 per cent, reaching the lowest level in five years, as his office increasingly relied on mediation to “foster harmony” when handling complaints. A comparison of the latest annual report from Ombudsman Jack Chan Jick-chi on Wednesday with past versions also found that a section on cases related to government information requests had been removed for the first time, while a chapter on “promoting a positive... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3316684/probes-hong-kongs-ombudsman-reach-5-year-low-amid-focus-mediation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3316684/probes-hong-kongs-ombudsman-reach-5-year-low-amid-focus-mediation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jul 2025 11:50:23 +0000