Founding of Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption
Hong Kong created an anti-corruption commission in 1974 after a corrupt policeman flew home to England with his pension. Corruption in the colony had been systemic rather than incidental. Police officers collected from illegal gambling, drugs and prostitution on an organised basis with fixed shares by rank, ambulance crews expected money before lifting a patient, and firemen were paid to turn on the hose. The phrase used was tea money, and the standard advice to a new officer was to get on the bus, run alongside it, or at least not stand in front of it. Peter Godber, a chief superintendent, was found in 1973 to have assets of some 4.3 million dollars, more than six times his total career earnings, and left the territory using his police airport pass while under investigation. Students demonstrated, and the governor appointed a judge whose report recommended an agency entirely outside the police. The Independent Commission Against Corruption reported to the governor alone, had its own investigators, and worked on three fronts at once — investigation, prevention by redesigning the procedures that made corruption possible, and public education. It also had a provision reversing the burden of proof for officials living beyond their means. Godber was extradited and jailed. The police mutinied in 1977 and an amnesty was granted for offences before 1977, which was resented and probably necessary. The model has been copied across Asia and Africa with results that depend entirely on whether the agency is allowed to touch the government that created it.
- Year: 1974 CE
- Category: Political
