Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong says the Government is considering various ways to tighten the working requirements for retired senior Government officials.

Speaking at a Legislative Council panel meeting this afternoon, Mr Wong said there is room for improvement in the policy governing civil servants' post-retirement employment.

He said the Government will speed up the review of the policy and is now studying the possibility of lengthening the so-called sanitisation period from cessation of duty with the Government for directorate officers.

The Government is considering lengthening the period from six months to one year, Mr Wong added.

To improve the monitoring system's transparency, the Government is also considering disclosing information concerning retired directorate officers who have approval to take up work with commercial organisations.

Information to be disclosed would include officers' names, organisations' names, officers' duties before retirement, officers' work after retirement, the length of the sanitisation period and other conditions set by the Government.

The study of the two ideas is still underway, Mr Wong said, adding no final decision has yet been made on the issue.

"We need some time to conduct internal discussions and consultations on the two ideas," he said.

Former civil servant to respond to allegations

On the handling of the employment issue of former  housing official Elaine Chung, Mr Wong said the incident could have been handled in a better way. However he rejected the allegation of negligence.

Some media reports said Ms Chung was involved in another property development project of Hong Kong Ferry when she tried to solicit the District Council members' support for a proposed change in land use for the company's shipyard in Tsing Yi.

Mr Wong said the Government has sent letters to Ms Chung, asking for an explanation. He stressed that appropriate actions will be taken after receiving her explanation.