Lawmakers blast ICAC's 'creative accounting'
Legco's examination of ex-chief's expenses hindered by foggy reports, lawmakers say
Lawmakers have expressed concerns over what they called arbitrary and creative accounting by the Independent Commission Against Corruption as they examine expenses for meals and duty visits incurred by its former chief, Timothy Tong Hin-ming.
In April, the Audit Report revealed that Tong had hosted two lavish dinners in December 2011 based around an international anti-corruption video competition. But Legco's public accounts committee found that the first dinner, on December 6, was not included in the HK$1.73 million expenses claimed for the whole function.
The dinner was calculated as part of the general expenses of the ICAC. There was also a boat trip on the second date that cost HK$2,000.
Kenneth Leung, the lawmaker representing the accountancy sector, voiced concerns over such "arbitrary" accounts. "We cannot get the overall impression of how much was actually spent on this event."
Forty-four guests of the video event later spent HK$12,807 to visit Guangdong's prosecution unit after the competition. But this expense was folded into the initial expenditure.
Committee chairman Abraham Razack urged Tong to explain such "creative accounting". Tong has said the ICAC's administrative branch had a system for filing expense claims.
