Police bill of about HK$95 million for water barriers, security props ‘split among 22 Hong Kong government agencies and not identified in budget’
- Government source raises alarm on ‘allocation warrants’ in which departments foot the bill for each other, as lawmaker questions if force has abused practice
- Spokesman for administration says offices and policy bureaus paid police for security enhancement measures, listing costs under their own accounts
A police bill of about HK$95 million for water barriers and security equipment to guard the government headquarters during the months-long protests was split among 22 agencies, but this was not listed in the recently released annual budget, the Post has learned.
Critics said the “hidden” police expenses undermined the transparency required for using public money. A lawmaker also queried whether the splitting of the bill, through an internal accounting arrangement, was meant to bypass the legislature’s scrutiny.
The opposition camp had expressed reservations about giving the force more resources amid public backlash over its handling of the months-long anti-government protests.
During the 79-day Occupy movement of 2014, there was no such practice over the huge security bill for the Admiralty headquarters. The civil disobedience campaign for greater democracy, however, was less violent than the current social unrest, sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.
“In response to the public order events since June 2019, some bureaus and departments saw the need for strengthening security of government premises,” a spokesman for the administration said in a reply to the Post.
