A total of 3,450 corruption reports were received in the first 11 months of the year, down 14% over the same period last year.

Of them, 34% related to government departments, 8% related to public bodies, and 58% related to the private sector.

Despite the drop in corruption reports, the Independent Commission Against Corruption is facing a heavy caseload partly attributed to investigations arising from election complaints and the increasingly sophisticated cases.

Caseload rises 3%

The commission's Advisory Committee on Corruption Chairman Dr Raymond Ch'ien said the caseload rose 3% to 1,919 in the first 11 months.

Meanwhile, 593 election-related complaints had been received at the end of November. Of these, 468 related to the 2003 District Council Election, seven to the Village Representatives Election and 118 to the 2004 Legislative Council Election.

"To cope with the heavy caseload and the increasingly sophisticated and transnational corruption crime, the ICAC will make better use of technology to enhance efficiency, upgrade officers' professional skills and strengthen the partnership with overseas law enforcement agencies," said Dr Ch'ien.

The commission was also concerned about the complaints relating to the Housing Department and works departments as the majority of the complaints were related to corruption in the awarding of contracts and sub-standard works.

Graft involving disciplinary officers not serious 

Although the number of cases involving law enforcement personnel engaged in criminal activities remained small, the commission urged disciplinary services members to ensure exemplary conduct in order to maintain public confidence.

Meanwhile, in the first 11 months of the year, the total number of people prosecuted has risen to 443, an increase of 14% from 388 last year.

The commission had also referred to civil service bureaus and government departments cases involving 120 civil servants facing allegations of malpractice such as the misuse of authority, obtaining unauthorised loans, unauthorised acceptance of gifts and entertainment.

Corporate governance promotion enhanced

The commission also urged the finance and insurance sector, which had attracted 158 complaints with 43 people being prosecuted in the past 11 months, to adopt a proactive approach to strengthen internal governance and risk management.