Hong Kong government seeks legal advice on leak of confidential data on contentious housing project
Lawmakers slam decision to impose three-month ban on engineering giant Arup from bidding for government contracts, saying criminal offence may be involved
Hong Kong’s Development Bureau is seeking legal advice on whether a government-commissioned consultancy illegally leaked official data to a private developer involved in a project in Wang Chau in Yuen Long district.
The private development was proposed to be next to a site set aside for a controversial public housing project.
Lawmakers criticised the government for being too lenient and demanded an explanation from officials on why the punishment was not stricter.
Pan-democrat lawmaker Raymond Chan Chi-chuen asked the Development Bureau if it had considered reporting the incident to the police as it could also be a criminal offence.
“This isn’t a matter of poor performance or being technically incompetent; it’s a matter of whether they broke the law,” Chan said at a meeting with government officials and Wang Chau village residents yesterday.
He pointed out that Arup could be in violation of the Official Secrets Ordinance, which regulates the unauthorised receipt and disclosure of official information.
