CCAC with more complaints and fewer results in 2016

The annual report from the activities of the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) for 2016 released this week shows a rise in complaints of 15 percent year-on-year.

As the Times reported yesterday, the number of criminal cases concluded in 2016 went down by 29 percent year-on-year, at a total of 182 resolved cases. This shows that out of a total of 910 complaints, only one out of five complaints presented to the anti-graft agency were resolved.

As in the previous years, the commission, led by André Cheong, was driven almost exclusively by citizen complaints, which represent 92.2 percent of all the cases handled in 2016, at a total of 839 cases.

Meanwhile, investigations initiated by the CCAC were accountable for only 3.2 percent at 29 cases. Although small, this figure represents year-on-year growth of about 146 percent, as the number of cases initiated by the CCAC comprised only 1.3 percent of the total in 2015.

The report mentions that in 2016, most of the criminal cases investigated concerned crimes committed by public officials, most notably the case involving former public prosecutor general Ho Chio Meng – the first involving a high-ranking official in the judiciary sector.

“Following the investigation, it was found that the accused, in collusion with private companies, would have been awarded for a long period of time and to certain undertakings, the works and the provision of services of the to obtain illicit benefits,” the CCAC stated.

“Despite several difficulties encountered in the investigation, namely the limited time, the long timeframe of the unlawful practices and the number of cases to analyze, the CCAC concluded the case.”

The report also refers to cases such as those involving workers from the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), the Health Bureau (SSM), the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) and the Housing Bureau (IH).

It also referred to further cases involving other public departments for “severe impact [on] society” and that, according to CCAC, gave rise to similar complaints. This includes cases involving the Transport Bureau (DSAT) and car park management companies.

The CCAC added that most of the cases investigated in 2016 involved fraud, document forgery and abuse of power, with the majority being related to obtaining fraudulent subsidies by the government, such as allowances related to the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Conservation, Education Development Fund and the Continuous Education Program.

These incidents resulted in reports urging the authorities to strengthen supervision and to strengthen the verification processes for subsidy applications. RM

Slight growth in cases involving private sector

While the number of cases involving the private sector registered a “slight increase” in 2016, the CCAC believes that this increase is due to a “greater awareness of the right to complain about corruption crimes by private entities.”

As an example, the report cited some complaints related to building management companies, owners and building administration boards of directors. This highlighted the existence of complex conflicts, “resulting in the acknowledgement that the legal regime on land management needs to be improved urgently.”

Ombudsman role now increasingly complex

In addition to the fight against corruption, the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) also acts as an ombudsman office. The commission said in its annual report that it had analyzed a total of 658 cases of alleged administrative infractions to date, as well as 649 information requests.

“In recent years the cases investigated by the CCAC have been increasingly complex, difficult to uncover and occurring over a very long period of time,” states the report, which calls for an “adjustment in human resources so the staff can focus their efforts and use diversified investigative measures in order to enable ombudsman actions to be carried out in an optimal way.”

In this chapter, the two major enquiries performed in 2016were  related to the Iec Long Firecracker Factory land swap case in Taipa and the research report on the award of public car park management services by Transport Bureau (DSAT).

In both cases, the CCAC found that the government departments involved had acted unlawfully and failed to protect public interests, and included suggestions for the settlement of such cases.

Regarding other activities, the CCAC also highlighted the proactive participation of the commission in the revision of the Election Law of the Legislative Assembly, where they made several suggestions based on previous experience in fighting electoral corruption and other illegal acts related to the elections.