https://www.scmp.com/rss/523805/feed The latest news and top stories on The Office of the Ombudsman. A Hong Kong-based independent statutory body, The Office of the Ombudsman is dedicated to ensuring a fair and efficient public administration. Its main areas of focus include investigating complaints of maladministration against government departments and public organisations, and initiating direct investigations into systemic issues. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial Self-regulation by a profession serving the public is fine, so long as it truly serves the public interest in practice. Otherwise it risks undermining public confidence. A case in point is the Medical Council of Hong Kong’s handling of public complaints. The Ombudsman has criticised its lengthy process, highlighting 11 cases that remained unresolved after more than a decade. The council is mostly made up of doctors. One case that caused a public outcry, an alleged medical blunder that left a boy... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3346870/medical-council-reform-must-prioritise-public-interest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3346870/medical-council-reform-must-prioritise-public-interest?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 22:45:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters ⁠Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn formally opened the new parliament on Saturday, as last month’s general election result faces court scrutiny over bar codes on the ballots that may have violated the law. The bar codes might undermine the secrecy of the ‌ballot, said the country’s Office of the Ombudsman, which petitioned the Constitutional Court to consider the case. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai party won a clear victory in the February 8 election, but the ombudsman said... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3346612/thailands-parliament-opens-amid-scrutiny-over-bar-codes-election-ballots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3346612/thailands-parliament-opens-amid-scrutiny-over-bar-codes-election-ballots?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 12:00:13 +0000 Matthew Cheng Matthew Cheng Hong Kong’s legislature will consider establishing a dedicated mechanism to scrutinise the implementation of approved bills and funding, drawing inspiration from mainland China’s law enforcement inspection system, according to its president. Legislative Council president Starry Lee Wai-king also dismissed concerns that the city’s first five-year plan would undermine the “one country, two systems” governing principle, emphasising the blueprint would be consistent with the capitalist system and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3345994/hong-kong-legco-explore-mainland-style-oversight-system-bills-enforcement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3345994/hong-kong-legco-explore-mainland-style-oversight-system-bills-enforcement?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 23:00:08 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The Medical Council’s handling of complaints against doctors has been so slow and inefficient that there is truly no excuse not to get on with necessary reform expeditiously. The latest investigation by the city’s maladministration watchdog has renewed a sense of urgency for action. The council’s complaint mechanism was found to have systemic issues and inadequacies, resulting in a persistent backlog of cases. The revelation does nothing for the image of the medical profession and public... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3343017/hong-kongs-medical-council-must-heed-diagnosis-ills-complaints-process?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3343017/hong-kongs-medical-council-must-heed-diagnosis-ills-complaints-process?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 23:15:08 +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 Bloomberg Bloomberg Plunder, corruption and bribery charges were recommended against Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s cousin for his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal. The Department of Public Works and Highways sought these charges against former House speaker Martin Romualdez during a filing at the Office of the Ombudsman on Friday. The same charges were also recommended for resigned lawmaker Zaldy Co, who was formerly head of the House of Representatives’ appropriations committee. Romualdez... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3333632/marcos-cousin-faces-plunder-charges-philippine-corruption-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3333632/marcos-cousin-faces-plunder-charges-philippine-corruption-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Nov 2025 04:31:41 +0000 Edith Lin Edith Lin Hong Kong social welfare authorities have pledged to improve their care home respite services, demanding that operators remove unnecessary background and medical checks while vowing to issue warnings to those who fail to rectify the situation. The remarks from Social Welfare Department assistant director David Ng Wai-lung came on Friday, a day after the city’s ombudsman found some of the 46 facilities it investigated were unduly selective when admitting applicants for respite services and were... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3328482/hong-kong-authorities-vow-improve-respite-services-after-ombudsmans-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3328482/hong-kong-authorities-vow-improve-respite-services-after-ombudsmans-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 05:25:05 +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