Articles: Civil Service

Ex-civil servant & husband jailed for HK$4.9m housing allowance fraud
ICAC, 15-Jan-2020
Why does the Government pay more to those who rent a home than to those who don't? In the private sector, people get what their skills are worth, no more, no less. Mr Luk was worth what his employer paid him. If he had received it as salary rather than housing allowance then his wife would have been in the clear, but he probably wanted the weird HK tax break in which housing is only assessed as 10% of cash pay, regardless of value. That should be scrapped.
Ex-Estate Surveyor of HD and husband guilty of HK$4.9m housing allowance fraud
ICAC, 7-Jan-2020
Once again, the real question is why the Government pays different amounts to employees with the same skills and experience based on whether they rent a flat and whether their spouse has a housing allowance from his/her employer.
Housing Department surveyor and husband charged with HK$4.8m housing allowances fraud
ICAC, 11-Jul-2018
Once again, the real question is why the Government pays different amounts to employees with the same skills and experience based on whether they are married and whether their spouse has a housing allowance from his/her employer.
Leung Chun Kwong v Secretary for the Civil Service & anotherSDO Section 7
HK Court of Appeal, 1-Jun-2018
The CA overturns the CFI decision granting Mr Leung benefits for his same-sex partner/spouse and upholds the decision denying him joint assessment for tax. The bigger question, regardless of sexual orientation, is this: why does the Government grant benefits based on marital status in the first place, and is that legal? The Sex Discrimination Ordinance, Section 7(1), prohibits discrimination based on marital status. Employees of equal rank and performance should not have different value of remuneration based on marital status. Mr Leung's complaint was that he did not qualify for discriminatory treatment in favour of married people, but why is there any such discrimination?
Webb on "Backchat" re Civil Service pay & terms
RTHK, 29-May-2018
Police Chief Telecommunications Engineer sentenced for HK$1.9m housing allowance fiddle
ICAC, 15-Mar-2018
Police Chief Telecommunications Engineer admits deceiving government of HK$1.9m housing loan and allowances
ICAC, 12-Feb-2018
It turns out that his wife received a low-interest housing loan from her employer, a bank, therefor Mr Wong was ineligible for this benefit, and under the perverse logic of civil service, he should have been paid less than someone in the same position who was not married.
The wrong way to pay civil servants
A new ICAC case reminds us that the Government and public sector get bad value for taxpayers and lose good people by paying time-limited benefits that are based on irrelevant factors rather than the value of their services. Scrap all the benefits schemes and pay people what they are worth. At the same time, remove the housing loophole from salaries tax, raise personal allowances and bring down the tax rate to compensate. (13-Jan-2018)
HKSAR v Mak Chai Kwong & Tsang King Man
HK Court of Final Appeal, 29-Jan-2016
The shortest-serving Secretary for Development and his co-accused succeed in their final appeal. Their defence was that although each had sold the other's flat under power of attorney and kept the proceeds, this swap of beneficial interests had been entered into after they had ceased claiming civil service Private Tenancy Allowance for renting each other's flats. Comment: the underlying policy issue here is a flawed system of remuneration, which should not depend on what they do with their income.
GLD Controller sentenced for HK$4.2m housing loan & allowances fraud
ICAC, 4-Sep-2015
This case is another example of muddled thinking on civil service remuneration. Civil servants, like anyone else, should be paid what their services are worth, and not an amount based on whether or not they are renting a home or have a mortgage to pay. Mr Leung's "crime" was to claim what someone in his position would have been paid if he had actually rented the flat for the period he claimed.
HKSAR v Mak Chai Kwong & Tsang King Man
HK Court of Appeal, 14-Nov-2014
The former Secretary for Development and his co-defendant lose their appeal.
Mak appeals flat-swap conviction
HK Standard, 3-Sep-2013
Ex-development secretary and highways official sentenced for housing fraud
ICAC, 8-Aug-2013
Suspended sentences in govt graft case
RTHK, 8-Aug-2013
HKSAR v Mak Chai Kwong & Tsang King Man: reasons for sentence
HK District Court, 8-Aug-2013
Ex-Development Secretary and highways official guilty of housing fraud
ICAC, 24-Jun-2013
Statistics on HK civil service pensions
HK Government, 7-Dec-2011
The annual run rate is now over HK$19.6bn per year, at an average of over $191k per pensioner per year.

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