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Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, to a question by the Hon James To Kun-sun in the Legislative Council today (May 15):
Question:
According to media reports, a former Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption is suspected of having misused public funds in overseas visits, entertainment activities and purchase of gifts during his term of office, and he is also suspected of having improperly used public funds for entertainment activities during his tenure as Commissioner of Customs and Excise. As such media reports have aroused grave public concern, will the Government inform this Council, regarding five disciplined services, namely the Hong Kong Police Force, Immigration Department, Fire Services Department, Customs and Excise Department and Correctional Services Department:
(a) of the requirements of the disciplined services in respect of their expenses on overseas visits, entertainment and gifts, including the ranks of approving officers, upper limits for such expenses, approval procedures, special approval procedures when the actual expenses have exceeded the upper limits for overseas visits/entertainment activities/gifts, and penalties for contraventions; whether the commissioners/directors of the disciplined services are authorised to approve expenses on overseas visits, entertainment activities and giving of gifts in which they are involved; if so, whether there is any restriction on such approvals;
(b) of the details of the expenses on purchase of gifts presented to government officials of other places since the incumbent commissioners/directors of the disciplined services assumed office, and set out in detail the dates on which the gifts were presented, the types of gifts (e.g. gift items, food or drinks, etc.), quantities and value of the gifts, names of organisations/persons that accepted the gifts, and purpose of presenting the gifts; the number of those occasions on which the value of the gifts had exceeded the upper limits, and whether special approvals were required and the reasons for the approvals;
(c) of the details of the entertainment activities hosted since the incumbent commissioners/directors of the disciplined services assumed office, and set out in detail the dates of the activities, venues, expenses incurred, name lists of those officers of the disciplined services and guests attending the activities, and purpose of the activities; the number of those entertainment activities in which the expenses had exceeded the upper limits, and whether special approvals were required and the reasons for the approvals;
(d) of the details of the overseas visits made by the incumbent commissioners/directors of the disciplined services since they assumed office, and set out in detail the dates of visits, destinations, expenses incurred (listing separately the total expenses and the expenses incurred by the commissioners/directors), numbers and ranks of the officers of the disciplined services participating in the visits, and purposes of the visits; the number of those visits for which the expenses had exceeded the upper limits, and whether special approvals were required and the reasons for the approvals; and
(e) whether these disciplined services have put in place internal audit mechanisms to ensure that expenses on overseas visits, entertainment activities and gifts are incurred in accordance with the relevant procedures and requirements; whether these disciplined services had uncovered any related contraventions in the past three years; if they had, of the details?
Reply:
President,
(a) and (e) Officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government are required by work to maintain regular liaison and contact with various sectors, including Legislative Council members, political parties, the media, consultative and advisory bodies, district personalities, offices set up by the Central People's Government, Mainland authorities, offices of foreign authorities in Hong Kong as well as international bodies, etc.
According to the Civil Service Regulations (CSR), Heads of Department and officers authorised by their Heads of Departments may have their expenditure on entertainment charged to public funds. Such expenditure should be directly related to the discharge of an officer's duties or a necessary part of making or maintaining contacts in his official capacity. The status of the guests and the standard of entertainment appropriate to the occasion must be taken into account when deciding the place and scale of entertainment. All applications for reimbursement of accountable expenditure on entertainment should be supported by receipts. The Head, Deputy Head of Department or a directorate officer to whom authority is delegated under the consent of the Secretary for the Civil Service must personally authorise all expenditure from the departmental entertainment vote, and the approval of reimbursement of entertainment expenditure is ultimately the responsibility of the controlling officers. Expenditure on entertainment forms part of the departmental operating expenses, and the expenses of bureaux and departments are subject to audit scrutiny.
In addition, according to the Government's internal guidelines, the expenses for entertaining guests should not exceed $350 per person for lunch and $450 per person for dinner. In discharging their duties, civil servants must strictly adhere to the relevant expenditure guidelines and approval mechanism if entertainments such as meals are involved. Where the circumstances require that the expenses exceed the expenditure guidelines, full justifications must be given and approval must be sought. This set of procedures is applicable to all Government departments, including the five disciplined services, namely the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), Immigration Department (ImmD), Fire Services Department (FSD), Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and Correctional Services Department (CSD).
Duty visits by civil servants should be made on the basis of operational need. The ranking and number of officers undertaking duty visits are considered on a case-by-case basis. To ensure that applications of civil servants for duty visits are prudently handled, applications from officers below Head of Department (HoD) level should be approved personally by Permanent Secretaries/HoDs or by senior officers not below Assistant Director level. As for duty visits undertaken by HoDs, approval should be obtained from their respective Permanent Secretary, supervising officer or Director of Bureau. In considering such applications, the approving officers should consider various factors, including the purpose of visit, duration, number and frequency of such visits, and the appropriateness of the ranking and number of the officers involved, etc. Civil servants on duty visits outside Hong Kong are entitled to draw a subsistence allowance provided under the CSR. The rate of the allowance is applicable to all civil servants. The allowance is intended to cover the cost of appropriate accommodation and meals, travelling expenses within towns, and other minor incidental out-of-pocket expenses, etc. For civil servants on duty visits, their duty passages are procured by relevant departments in accordance with the CSR and the Stores and Procurement Regulations (SPR).
As regards offering of souvenirs, the Government of the current term upholds the principles of honesty and simplicity. It generally does not accept or exchange souvenirs or gifts in functions and activities. If there is a need to go through the protocol for exchanging souvenirs or gifts, appropriate souvenirs or gifts would be procured having regard to the capacity of the guests and the occasions to ensure proper use of public funds. The procurement of supplies (including gifts or souvenirs) must be in compliance with the SPR of the Government.
In other words, the expenses incurred in official entertainment, duty visits and offering of gifts or souvenirs by civil servants are governed by relevant guidelines. Applications and approvals for those expenses are subject to established procedures to ensure the proper use of public funds. Civil servants who contravene the CSR or other government regulations may be subject to disciplinary actions.
(b) The types of souvenirs given by the five disciplined services, namely the HKPF, ImmD, FSD, C&ED and CSD, generally include wooden plaques, crystal displays and stationeries engraved with the names or logos of the departments. The relevant expenditure forms part of the "general departmental expenses". The departments do not maintain a separate account in respect of the expenses for the procurement of souvenirs.
(c) The total expenses for official entertainment of the five disciplined services, namely the HKPF, ImmD, FSD, C&ED and CSD, in the past five years are at Annex 1. The departments do not maintain a separate account in respect of the expenses for official entertainment of individual officers.
(d) The total expenses for duty visits of the five disciplined services, namely the HKPF, ImmD, FSD, C&ED and CSD, in the past five years are at Annex 2. The purposes of the visits are mainly to attend conferences or ceremonies, conduct study trips or business exchange, and to negotiate or conclude agreements, etc. The departments do not maintain a separate account in respect of the expenses for duty visits of individual officers.
Ends/Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:41
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