Legco closes down inquiry into misconduct allegations against CY Leung, for want of first-hand information
- Select committee investigating former chief executive’s payments by Australian firm UGL bemoaned its lack of authority to summon witnesses
- Move follows government’s decision in December not to press charges against Leung
Hong Kong’s legislature decided on Thursday to wrap up its inquiry into the misconduct allegations against former chief executive Leung Chun-ying, after admitting it had not been able to get any first-hand information over the past 25 months.
The decision came after the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) announced in December that its four-year investigation into Leung had ended with the Justice Department concluding that there was not enough evidence to press charges against the city’s former leader.
The Legislative Council set up a select committee in November 2016 to look into Leung’s receipt of part of a HK$50 million (US$6.4 million) payment from Australian firm UGL during his time in office.
The payment, which was not declared to the Executive Council, was made under a deal with UGL stipulating that Leung could not form or join a rival firm. UGL had bought DTZ, an insolvent property company of which Leung was a director before becoming chief executive.
“The biggest difficulty was that we did not get any help from relevant individuals,” Tse said, adding that the committee’s requests for documents and statements were unanswered.
