Hong Kong logistics chief involved in water scandal begins pre-retirement leave
Carlson Chan’s former deputy, Avia Lai, appointed as acting director of department
The head of Hong Kong’s logistics department, embroiled in a water procurement scandal, has started his pre-retirement leave, while Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has said that civil servants remain subject to the management system until they officially depart.
According to the latest government gazette, Carlson Chan Ka-shun ceased to be the director of the Government Logistics Department on Friday as he began his pre-retirement leave.
His former deputy, Avia Lai Wong Shuk-han, has been appointed as the acting director of the department.
Asked whether the leave was part of disciplinary action taken against the official, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu, who oversees the department, said Chan’s retirement was simply a “normal arrangement”.
He added that the government was addressing the scandal from three angles: the department’s remedial efforts, the Audit Commission’s investigation and a task force that he was chairing to review the incident and come up with recommendations.
Lee told a television programme on Friday that a civil servant was still subject to the management system as long as he or she had not officially left public service and was still on leave.