Former HK chief graft buster faces probe Hong Kong's graft busting agency will run a criminal probe against its former chief into allegations that he overspent on gifts to foreign officials, including a HK$2,000 scarf for the president of an international group of anti-corruption authorities. The news last month that Timothy Tong Hin-ming spent HK$220,000 (US$28,000) on gifts during his five-year stint at the top of the Independent Commission Against Corruption caused outrage in Hong Kong and prompted a stream of complaints to the anti-graft body. Audit papers released in the Legislative Council, the city's de facto government, revealed that Mr Tong spent about HK$155,000 of the total on gifts to mainland government officials, including HK$10,325 on 35 pens and more than HK$4,000 on a stone carving. Mr Tong was this year given a place on the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the mainland's most important consultative body, after completing his tenure at the ICAC in 2012. Hong Kong already has one major bribery scandal involving a former senior civil servant. Rafael Hui, a former chief secretary, will face trial later this year with the billionaire Kwok brothers who run Sun Hung Kai Properties and two other men. All defendants deny the allegations. The government has been battling to maintain confidence in the ICAC since the scandal blew up around Mr Tong. The chief secretary, Carrie Lam, said last week Legco could cancel or cut the pensions of retired civil servants convicted of offences in public office. However, Legco members trying to get the Tong case examined properly by the lawmaking body have been frustrated, seeing only a relatively toothless select committee with no powers of summons formed so far. The Hong Kong Department of Justice has now asked the ICAC to launch a criminal probe into his behaviour in office, although it emphasised it had come to no view on whether any prosecution should commence. "On the materials made available, the DoJ considered there is sufficient basis to warrant a criminal investigation into allegations of possible offences under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance," it said. A decision [on prosecution] will be made at the conclusion of the criminal investigation, after all relevant material and information has been gathered. The commission itself said that in view of the nature of the "wide community concerns" and "complaints being openly made to the ICAC alleging corrupt practices" it would establish a dedicated investigative team that would function independently and be accountable directly to CY Leung, the chief executive, Hong Kong's de facto leader. Mr Tong has been invited to appear at a public hearing on Saturday on the audit report that revealed his spending. He could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. The DoJ said the ICAC was the right group to investigate Mr Tong because it had the specialist knowledge and experience and a proven internal investigatory team. The ICAC was formed in February 1974 in response to rampant corruption throughout Hong Kong's police force. The escape from justice of former police chief Peter Godber while he was under investigation for more than HK$4m of assets garnered from bribery and other corruption had led to mass protests against the British controlled government. He was eventually jailed in 1975 after being extradited from the UK by the newly formed ICAC. Following further investigations and criminal cases against the most senior corrupt cops, the government ultimately had to grant an amnesty for past crimes to the large majority of lower ranking policemen to maintain civil order.