DEVELOPMENT BUREAU

WORKS BRANCH

INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT
MANUAL
SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS

MANUAL CONSOLIDATING
REGULATIONS, CIRCULARS AND
GUIDELINES ON INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT

INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT MANUAL

First Issue Date: July 2006
Second Issue Date: August 2007
Third Issue Date: January 2008
Fourth Issue Date: November 2009

Part I
Summary of Requirements
(This part summarizes the integrity management guidelines
described in Part II of the Manual with examples on various issues
as illustrations. It serves as a quick reference for the readers as well
as an Executive Summary to the contents in Part II. It consists of 5
sections:
Section A Acceptance of Advantages
Section B Conflict of Interest
Section C Personal Conduct
Section D Acts of Misconduct
Section E Supervisory Accountability
It should be read in conjunction with Part II of the Manual, the law,
and the relevant guidelines and regulations issued by the Civil
Service Bureau (CSB), Works Branch (WB) of the Development
Bureau (DEVB) and the Works Departments. The requirements and
examples listed in this part are for reference only and by no means
exhaustive. Readers are also reminded that, depending on the
circumstances, some of the examples cited in this part may also be
examples of corruption and misconduct in public office under which
the officers may be criminally culpable. If in doubt, please consult
your Departmental Secretary.)

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A.

Acceptance of Advantages
Status of Offeror

Category

Sub-Category

Relations*

Tradesmen / Commercial

Close Personal Friends

Other Persons

Government

Establishment / Associations
I. Advantage
offered to an
officer in his
private
capacity

(i) Acceptance
of gifts /
discounts /
passages

Restrictions

Restrictions

May solicit or y
accept any
gift / discount
/ passage of
any value

Other Conditions
Nil

May solicit or accept any

gift / discount / passage of
any value

Other Conditions
y Offer equally available to
persons who are not
government officers

(Ref : para. 2.7) y

Offeror has no official

dealings with the officer
Advantage offered to the
officer in his private
capacity
(Ref : para. 2.8)

Integrity Management Manual 2009 Edition

Restrictions

Restrictions

Restrictions

May only accept a gift /

passage of a value not
exceeding $3,000 on a
special occasion (e.g.
officers wedding)

May only accept a gift /

passage of value not
exceeding $1,500 on a
special occasion

y
y

May only accept a gift /

passage up to $500 on
other occasions

May only accept a gift /

passage up to $250 on
other occasions

Accept but not solicit, a

gift (not money) on
officers retirement or other
occasions as permitted
under Government
regulations or in
accordance with officers
terms and conditions of
employment

Solicit or accept money

from Govt staff welfare
fund or as permitted under
Government regulations

Solicit or accept passage in

accordance with
Government regulations or
conditions of employment

Other Conditions
y Offeror has no official
dealings with the
department in which the
officer works

Other Conditions
y Offeror has no official
dealings
with
the Other Conditions
department in which the
officer works
Nil

Offeror not a subordinate

of the officer

Offeror not a subordinate

of the officer

Advantage offered to the

officer in his private
capacity
(Ref : para. 2.9 2.10)

Advantage offered to the

officer in his private
capacity
(Ref : para. 2.11)

(Ref : para. 2.12)

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Status of Offeror
Category

Sub-Category

Relations*

Tradesmen / Commercial

Close Personal Friends

Other Persons

Government

Establishment / Associations
(ii)

Acceptance
of loans of
money

Restrictions

Restrictions

Restrictions

Restrictions

Restrictions

No limit

Other Conditions

No limit

Other Conditions

Maximum $3,000 per

person per occasion

Other Conditions

Maximum $1,500 per

person per occasion

As under Government
regulations or officers
terms and conditions of
employment

Other Conditions
Other Conditions

Nil

(Ref : para. 2.7)

y

Loan conditions equally

y
available to persons who are
not government officers
y
Lender has no official
dealings with the officer

In the course of normal

business of the lender

Loan offered to officers in

his private capacity

Repaid within 30 days

Repaid within 30 days

Lender not a subordinate

of the officer

Lender not a subordinate of

the officer

Lender has no official

dealings with the
department in which the
officer works

Nil

(Ref : para. 2.9 2.10)

(Ref : para. 2.12)

Lender has no official

dealings with the
department in which the
officer works
(Ref : para. 2.11)

(Ref : para. 2.8)

* As defined under Section.3 of AAN

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Category
I.

(iii)
Advantage
offered to an
officer in his
private capacity

Sub-Category
Acceptance of
Sponsored Visits

Examples
General Guidelines
Sponsored visits offered in an officers capacity as an office-bearer y As a general rule, officers should ensure that their conduct and
or member of his professional association would normally fall
activities during their private visits would not bring them or the
within this category.
civil service into disrepute or lead to any actual or perceived
conflict of interest.
y They should also ensure that their private visits are separate
from their official duties and avoid putting themselves in an
obligatory position through the acceptance of advantages or
hospitality arrangements.
y Special permission from the authority is required, if the
advantages offered are not generally permitted under the ANN.
y An officer may be liable to disciplinary action, or even
prosecution under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and/or
the Common Law offence of Misconduct in Public Office if he
solicits or accepts a sponsored private visit that has or could
have led to a conflict between his private interests and official
duties or position.
(Ref : para. 2.21 2.25)

(iv) Acceptance of Free

Services

(a) Free transportation service from a service provider for y Should not accept
delivering an officers personal belongings from one
workplace to another
(b) Free house-moving service from a service provider with whom y Should not accept
the officer has a direct working relationship
y Before accepting a free service, officer should ensure that he
has no official dealing with the offeror and acceptance would
not place him in obligatory position or bring Government into
disrepute
(Ref : para. 2.26 2.27)

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Category
II. Advantages
offered to an
officer in his
official capacity

(i)

Sub-Category
General Principles
Acceptance of gift y Decline to accept as far as possible
presented on
y If cannot decline for protocol reason,
social / ceremonial
accept on behalf of bureau / department
occasions
and report to approving authority for
decision on disposal
(Ref : Para. 2.33)

(ii)

Acceptance of free y Decline to accept as far as possible

raffle tickets and
y If cannot be avoided, prizes won should
participation in free
be returned for a re-draw
lucky draws
y If cause offence or embarrassment, take
prize back to bureau / department for
disposal
(Ref : para. 2.43 2.44)

Factors for Consideration

y Whether appropriate to
decline
y Nature and value of gift
y Status and reputation of
donor
y Any conflict of interest
y Any obligatory situation
y Appropriateness in view of
prevailing Govt policy
y Whether offer available on
equal terms to persons who
are not Government officers
y No. of occasions offered by
same donor previously
y Any regulatory or supervisory
responsibilities on the offeror
y Public perception angle

Alternative Methods of Disposal

y Personal retention subject to
conditions at para. 2.39
y Share among the office for gift
of perishable nature
y Send to charitable organization,
school, library or museum
y Display in office or department
y If it is suitable and the value of
the gift does not exceed
$1,000, it may be donated to the
departments social function as a
lucky draw prize
(Ref : para. 2.36-2.37)

(Ref : para. 2.35)

(iii) Purchase of raffle
tickets during
official functions

Prize won from raffle tickets may be

accepted but should avoid dubious lucky
draws

--

--

(Ref : para. 2.44)

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Category

Sub-Category
(iv) Sponsored Official y
Visits
y

General Principles
Should be dealt with in accordance
with CSB Circular No. 11/2007(C)
If it is considered necessary or
desirable for an officer to go on an
official visit, Government should bear
the costs of the visit.
Sponsorship offered by entities under
the regulation of a Bureau or
Department or by private commercial
organsiations should be declined to
avoid any actual, potential or
perceived conflict of interest.

(Ref : para. 2.45 2.56)

z

Factors for Consideration

Alternative Methods of Disposal
-why it is considered in the interest of
the Government to attend the event
and why acceptance of sponsorship is
preferred to Government bearing the
costs of attending the event
the identity, status and nature of the
business of the sponsoring body
the type of sponsorship involved (e.g.
free passage, number of nights of hotel
accommodation, per diem allowance)
and the amount involved
whether the acceptance of the
sponsored visit would give rise to any
actual, potential or perceived conflict
of interest
whether the Government would be
placed in an obligatory position to the
sponsor
if the sponsoring body is a commercial
organisation,
whether
the
Bureau/Department has any current or
prospective official dealings with it;
and
why
it
is
in
the
Bureau/Departments view that the
acceptance of the sponsored visit
would not lead to any actual or
perceived conflict of interest or place
the Government in an obligatory
position to the sponsor
whether the official sponsored visit has
the support of the relevant Director of
Bureau/Permanent Secretary
whether honorarium is offered to the
officer concerned.
(Ref : para. 2.46 2.56)

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Category
III.

Acceptance of
Entertainment: General
Principles

General Guidelines

Factors for Considerations

Should not accept entertainment that may:

Whether entertainment offered is

y cause embarrassment, or bring disrepute to Government or the

department

excessive taking into account its value, nature, substance and

frequency

y lead to actual loss (or such loss being perceived) of impartiality in

the conduct of official business/duties

inappropriate taking into account relationship between officer and

donor

y make them feel obliged to the offeror/host

undesirable taking into account character of the host, etc

(Ref : para. 2.63)

(Ref : para. 2.63)

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IV.

Category
Acceptance of
Entertainment
and Social
Contact with
Contractors /
Consultants

(i)

Examples
Light refreshment during site visits / working meetings

General Guidelines
May accept if unavoidable for reasons of courtesy

(ii)

Hospitality or entertainment from contractor or consultant during inspection visits

outside Hong Kong as agreed beforehand by the designated officer for the
contract

May accept

(iii)

Invitation to annual dinner of a professional institution

Widely accepted as being proper

(iv)

Invitation to spring reception, ground breaking ceremony, topping off/ completion

ceremony, Lo Pan Festival party, Christmas party from contractors or consultants

Should seek permission from their Unit/Section Heads who

should ensure that the number of officers attending each
function be kept to the minimum and properly record the
names of officers to whom permission has been given by
filling in the Register at Annex 2.7 of the Integrity
Management Manual

(v)

Acceptance of entertainment other than (i) to (iv) above

Seek approval from the approving authority by completing

the prescribed application form at Annex 2.8 of the Integrity
Management Manual

The following scenarios should be noted:

- Not appropriate to go to night clubs, Karaoke and sauna
parlours or massage establishments with those persons
having official dealings with the Department
- Care should be taken to avoid social activities with
members of professions who have official dealings with
the officer, e.g. attend a dinner party for say, several
persons including contractors having official dealings
- Mindful to have social contact carrying beyond a certain
limit, e.g. going on leisure trips together on a cost-sharing
basis, as it might give the impression that an officer had a
bias in favour of a particular business concern or
organization

(Ref : para. 2.64 2.72)

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B. Conflict of Interest
General Principles
An officer should:
y

refrain from acquiring investment or financial or other interest which may lead to a conflict of interest

refrain from taking part in deliberation, decision-making, investigation or enforcement process in

connection with matter in which he has a private interest

avoid putting himself in a position of obligation to his subordinates or person who has or may have official
dealings with his department

decline to provide assistance, advice or information to relations, friends, etc. in connection with his work
where this would give the recipient an unfair advantage over other people

report to supervisor any private interest that might be seen to compromise his personal judgment in the
performance of his duties

Consequence
Failure to do so renders an officer liable to disciplinary proceedings,
and in certain circumstances, criminal proceedings. May be
removed from service, depending on gravity of the offence
(Ref : para. 3.6)

(Ref : para 3.5)

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I.

Category
Use of Discretionary (i)
Power

Examples
Officer managing a contractor or a consultant who is a close personal y
friend of the officer

Officer entering into partnership with contractors or consultants to y

whom he could favour or give preferential treatment in official business
y
(iii) Officer involved in the award of contracts joining the office of the
successful bidder soon after resignation/retirement
y
(iv) Officer in a tender selection team or involved in a project assisting in
preparation of tender submissions for the bidding contractor or
consultant which is wholly or partly owned by his spouse or his
relatives
(ii)

(v)

General Guidelines
A conflict of interest arises when an officer has the discretionary power
to make a decision that may affect his private interest
Should be impartial and objective in the conduct of official business
Make decision on the basis of merit and for good reason, free from any
improper influence
Should refrain from taking part in decision-making that may be affected
by private interests
(Ref : para. 3.8)

Officer engaging in negotiation on behalf of the Government the

procurement of goods or services from contractors or consultants who
are the spouse, family members or relatives of the officer
(Ref : Annex 3.1)

Category
II. Use of Official Position (i)

Examples
Officer soliciting favour or assistance from his subordinates in dealing y
with his own personal matters

General Guidelines
Should not use official position to further private interests nor accord
preferential treatment to organizations or persons with connections

(ii)

Officer assisting his spouse, an insurance agent, to approach trainees to y

subscribe to insurance policies

Should not use or permit use of their official position to coerce or induce
another person to provide benefit to him

(iii) Officer introducing relatives/friends to take up employment with or y

sublet work from contractors or consultants who come under his
y
supervisory responsibilities
(iv) Officer supplying a reference for a candidate in a recruitment exercise
in which he is involved
(v)

Should not ask subordinates to perform any act other than official duties
Should not use official position in a manner that could imply official
endorsement of their personal activities
(Ref : para. 3.9)

Being a member or office bearer of a professional body soliciting

advantages for the professional body from contractors or consultants
under his supervisory responsibilities

(vi) Officer taking part in evaluation and selection of tenders where one of
the bidders is his relation / friend

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Category

Examples
(vii) Officer engaging in supervision or investigation of contractors or
consultants in which the officers spouse, family, relatives or close
personal friends are working or having financial interests

General Guidelines

(Ref : Annex 3.1)

III. Use of Official
Information

(i)

(ii)

Officer in possession of privileged information by virtue of official y

position making private investment on the basis of such information
y
Officer involved in tender assessment advising his family/friends on
strategy in bidding for tenders

Should not use or disclose information to benefit his private interests

Senior officials who have greater chance of accessing classified or market
sensitive information should be particularly mindful of possible conflict of
interest as perceived by the public

(iii) Officer responsible for licensing having his spouse operating a y

consultancy firm advising clients on licensing matters that fall within
his ambit

Directorate officer should refrain from engaging in private financial

transactions in connection with matters on which he might be reasonably
suspected of having knowledge of classified information

Should decline requests for information from their relations or friends

which, if entertained, may give them unfair advantage over others

Government officer is not allowed to publish or communicate to

unauthorized persons information obtained in his official capacity without
Departments approval

Officers involved in procurement are reminded of the guidelines stipulated

in SPR 180 - 195

Officer should be mindful in handling information containing personal

data having regard to the requirements of the Personal Data (Privacy)
Ordinance

(Ref : Annex 3.1)

(Ref : para. 3.10 3.14)

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Category
IV. Position of Obligation (i)

(ii)

Examples
Officer having his flat decorated by a contractor or sub-contractor who y
comes under the officers supervisory responsibilities
y
Officer purchasing a used car from a contractor or consultant or person
with whom he has official dealings

(iii) Officer indulging in games of chance for money or moneys worth (e.g.
y
poker or mahjong) with his subordinates or his work contacts

(Ref: Annex 3.1)

V. Entertainment

General Guidelines
Should avoid placing themselves in a position of obligation to others
Should not accept advantage (including free service and favour),
excessive
entertainment
or
benefit
from
subordinate,
company/organization, or member of the public with whom they have,
or are likely to have, official dealings
Should not indulge in game of chance for money or moneys worth with
subordinates and work contacts
(Ref : para. 3.15)

Please refer to Category III of Part A Acceptance of Advantages

--

(Ref : para. 2.64 2.72)

VI.

Investments

Officer acquiring any investment that may lead to actual or perceived y

conflict of interest with the officers official duties

Should not acquire investments which may lead to conflict of interest with
official duties

Officer having any joint investments with or financial interest in the y

business of contractors and consultants who come under the officers
supervision
y
(iii) Officer responsible for specialist subject investing in a company which
advises on that subject
y
(iv) Officer responsible for recruitment and promotion investing in an
executive search firm

Report private investments in accordance with CSRs 461-466 and CSB

Circular No. 8/2006

(i)

(ii)

Report to supervisor immediately if called upon to deal with matters

which may affect their investments
Onus of reporting rests with individual officers
(Ref : para. 3.18 3.19)

(Ref : Annex 3.1)

VII. Outside Work and
Activities

(i)

Officer working part-time for companies which have official dealings y

with his bureau / department

Must not engage in outside work or outside activities that may give rise to
any conflict of interest with their official duties

(ii)

Officer undertaking paid or unpaid outside work for a contractor or a y

consultant under the officers supervisory responsibilities

Must obtain prior approval from the Permanent Secretary/Head of

Department before undertaking any unpaid outside work within working
hours or any paid outside work

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Category

Examples
(iii) Officer involved in processing or assessment of Government tenders y
preparing bids for prospective contractors or consultants
(iv) Officer undertaking part-time work for contractors or consultants hired
by his department

General Guidelines
No professional or assistant professional officer may undertake paid
outside work in his profession except for teaching work or work in public
interest, and with approval
(Ref : para. 3.20)

(Ref: Annex 3.1)

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C. Personal Conduct
Category
I.

Misuse of the Departments Assets

and Resources

General Guidelines
Officer should make best use of Departments assets and resources for official purposes and authorized activities

Any appropriation of Departments property for personal use or for resale is strictly prohibited

Examples include misuse of contract cars and requiring contractor to provide items not in accordance with the contract terms
(Ref : para. 4.2 4.3)

II.

Gambling

Officer should not engage in frequent and excessive gambling of any kind, or any games of chance involving high stakes, with
persons having official dealings

Officer must exercise judgment and withdraw from any high stake game even in social games with persons having official dealings
(Ref : para. 4.4)

III. Personal Finance and Indebtedness

(i)

Insolvency and bankruptcy

Where serious pecuniary embarrassment infringes upon work performance, the officer may be liable to administrative action (from
stoppage/deferment of increment to retirement in the public interest)

Where financial difficulty leads to misconduct (e.g. obtaining unauthorized loan, undertaking unauthorized paid outside work), the
officer may be liable to disciplinary proceedings

Where (a) proceedings are taken against an officer with a view to bankruptcy, (b) an officer becomes insolvent or bankrupt, even
though no proceedings have been taken against him yet, he is required to notify his department, otherwise he may be liable to
disciplinary action
(Ref : para. 4.8 4.9)

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Category
(ii)

General Guidelines
Lending money and borrowing money at interest, and use of subordinates as guarantors

Where officer lends money at interest or in return for payment of a larger sum or on any other valuable consideration whatsoever to
any person who works in the same bureau / department, or has official dealings with the officer which may give rise to conflict of
interest, he needs to obtain consent from his Permanent Secretary/Head of Department, otherwise he shall be liable to disciplinary
action if his money lending activity gives rise to conflict of interest or cause embarrassment to the Government

Where officer acts on behalf of any commercial money-lender or financial institution in any capacity whatsoever, paid or unpaid, he
shall be liable to disciplinary action if he fails to observe CSRs 550 to 559 or if his involvement in the money lending activity gives
rise to conflict of interest or causes embarrassment to the Government

Where officer borrows money whether at interest or not, he may have to obtain special permission from his Permanent
Secretary/Head of Department under certain circumstances

Where officer uses a subordinate or a junior officer of the same grade or working in the same Bureau/Department as a guarantor for
a loan or hire purchase agreement, he may be liable to disciplinary action unless prior permission has been obtained

Where officer acts as guarantor for a supervisor or senior officer of the same grade for a loan or hire purchase agreement, he may be
liable to disciplinary action
(Ref : para. 4.10 4.12)

IV.

Diligence

Officer should be committed and dedicated to his work and should discharge his duties with care, diligence and thoroughness

Officer should be punctual in reporting for duty and sign the attendance book, if required, in person

Officer absent from duty without permission may be liable to disciplinary action
(Ref : para. 4.29 4.31)

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D.

Acts of Misconduct

Examples
(I)

Consequence

Unauthorized absence from duty

(i)

Officer applied for urgent leave on many occasions.

Supervisor instructed him to seek
permission from supervisor direct and submit application well in advance. Despite the
instruction, officer took urgent leave by just informing a colleague

(ii)

Officer obtained supervisors permission to seek medical treatment, but found going to deal with
personal matters instead

May be liable to disciplinary action

(Ref. : para. 5.7)

(iii) Officer left his duty earlier on the ground that he had already completed all his work
(iv) Officer did not report duty after leave and claimed unwell. Despite supervisors approval not
granted, officer did not show up until 10 days later. He was in Mainland during the period and
produced medical certificate by a Shenzhen medical practitioner
(II)

Violation of rules governing granting of sick leave

(i)

(ii)

Officer applied for sick leave. Supervisor asked for medical certificate in support otherwise
would require leave to cover absence. Officer unable to produce medical certificate and refused
to take leave to cover absence
Officer was required under CSR 1291 to attend designated medical officer if he wished to take
sick leave. He failed to comply for reason that the quota of designated clinic was full at the
time. Found to be false upon verification

May be liable to disciplinary action / prosecution for

falsification of document
(Ref.: para. 5.8)

(iii) Officer altered sick leave certificate

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Examples
(III)

Falsification of Attendance Records

(i)

(IV)

Consequence

Officers attendance book showed that he had attended duty according to normal duty hours but
he was found going to Mainland on numerous occasions

(ii) Officer recorded in attendance book that he was on duty throughout normal working hours, but
he was found having left Hong Kong. He explained that his supervisor had allowed him to
leave early as a compensation for his voluntary overtime work

May be liable to disciplinary action / charged for

falsification of document

(iii) Officer falsely declared his attendance when he was in Mainland on repeated occasions

(Ref.: para. 5.9)

Misconduct in Public Office

(i) Officer did not report that his spouse was owner of a printing company when making
recommendations for award of contracts. Also discarded quotations with lower bids and falsely
represented his spouses quotations the lowest
(ii) Supervisor instructed his subordinate to offer contracts to pre-determined suppliers without
obtaining quotations, knowing that one of the suppliers was his spouse. Also instructed
subordinate to make fictitious quotation records
(iii) Officer responsible for supervising 2 NCSC staff acceded to contract staffs request for salary
increase without following proper procedures to seek approval. Also authorized to effect
payments to relatives of the contract staff who had not provided any service to the department
(iv) Law enforcement officer knowingly signed documents containing false information, causing an
innocent person to be summoned for criminal offence. Although summons subsequently
withdrawn, incident embarrassed the department and brought public service into disrepute

May be liable to criminal conviction as Misconduct in

Public Office is a criminal offence under the common
law and is constituted by the following elements:
y a public official
y in the course of or in relation to the public offices;
y wilfully misconducts himself; by act or omission,
for example, by wilfully neglecting or failing to
perform his duty
y without reasonable excuse or justification
y where such misconduct is serious, not trivial,
having regard to the responsibilities of the office
and the officeholder, the importance of the public
objects which they serve and the nature and extent
of the departure from those responsibilities
(Ref.: para. 5.10 5.15)

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(V)

Examples
Criminal Conviction Cases Involving Shoplifting and Sex-related Offences

Consequence

(i) An officer stole goods valued at around $200 from a department store while off duty. He was
convicted of Theft
(ii) An officer, while on vacation in a foreign country, stole goods valued at about $90 from a
convenience shop. He was convicted of Theft in that country
(iii) An officer committed shoplifting twice in three months. He was convicted of "Theft" on both
occasions. He was found to have a previous record of a similar offence a few years ago
(iv) A law enforcement officer, while off duty, was found to have used a mobile phone equipped with
video recording function to film under the skirt of a female on a public corridor. He was
convicted of Behaving in a Disorderly Manner in a Public Place

May be awarded a disciplinary punishment of up to

removal from the service, on top of the sentence
handed down by the Court
(Ref: para 5.16)

(v) An officer, who was a para-medical professional, had improperly used the personal particulars of
some clients of the medical institute and made nuisance phone calls to them falsely pretending to
be a medical doctor and asking them private and sexual questions. He was convicted of multiple
counts of Impersonating a Public Officer and Making Offensive (Obscene) Telephone Call
Note : Examples cited in this Section are quoted from the Resource Centre on Civil Service Integrity Management (RCIM). Please refer to the cases uploaded on its website
on the Central Cyber Government Office (CCGO) (http://rcim.host.ccgo.hksarg/english/misconduct/misconduct.html).

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E. Supervisory Accountability
General Principle
If the acts of work-related misconduct committed by his subordinates are blatant, widespread or repeated, the supervisor may be held accountable for failing in his
supervisory responsibility
(Ref : para. 6.6)

(i)

Examples
A number of officers found left Hong Kong for Mainland during duty hours repeatedly and were subject to disciplinary action. Supervisor claimed ignorance
of staffs absence. Supervisors explanation not accepted. Should put in place necessary and effective means to check his subordinates attendance and to
ensure their duties discharged properly. Disciplinary action taken against supervisor for failing in supervisory responsibility

(ii)

A group of outdoor staff left place of work early almost everyday. Claimed their supervisor allowed them to do so unofficially if they had finished assigned
work. Claim not considered valid as supervisor did not have authority to allow absence of his staff in such circumstances. Both outdoor staff and supervisor
were subject to disciplinary action

(iii)

Supervisor was aware that subordinates attendancerelated records in work reports were false but turned a blind eye thinking that the malpractice had been in
existence for a long time before he was in post. A supervisor must not condone any dereliction of duty. Inaction and tolerance of misconduct is a failure in
supervisory responsibility. Disciplinary action was subsequently taken against both supervisor and subordinates

(iv)

Team leader released his team after completing an assigned outdoor work. The team reassembled several hours later and returned to office together on two
consecutive days. Disciplinary action taken against the team. Team leader compulsorily retired because he breached departments trust placed upon him by
causing group absenteeism himself

(v)

An officer was responsible, among other things, for assisting the project director in supervising the work of the contractors of a public works project. He
neglected his contract supervision duty in that he failed to make periodic visits to the project site with the consultants to review work progress and observe
sensitive areas of the contractors work to ensure compliance with the contract, contrary to the departmental instruction. Formal disciplinary action was
taken against him. He was awarded a punishment together with a caution of removal from the service in the event of further misconduct

(vi)

An officer was responsible for overseeing works performed by the departments contractors of his department. He neglected his contract supervision duty in
that he had endorsed works which a contractor had not actually performed, and had improperly handled site documents submitted by different contractors on
repeated occasions. Formal disciplinary action was taken against him. He was awarded a punishment together with a caution of removal from the service
in the event of further misconduct

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(vii)

Examples
An officer was found to have failed to handle properly the accounts of a number of clients receiving certain allowances from the department. It was then
uncovered that his supervisor had failed to exercise due diligence and prudence in monitoring the officers performance in handling the clients accounts for a
prolonged period of time. Formal disciplinary action was taken against both the officer and his supervisor; and they were each awarded a punishment

(viii)

An officer was found to have made false claims of traveling expenses for duty journeys and falsified outdoor duty records on numerous occasions. His
supervisor, it turned out, had neglected his duties as a supervisor in that he failed to check the officers outdoor duty and attendance records and also the
officers claim forms against such records. Formal disciplinary action was taken against both the officer and his supervisor. The officer was subsequently
punished by removal from the service. His supervisor was also awarded a punishment

(ix)

An officer embezzled payments from the public when he was performing shroff duty. He was criminally convicted of Theft, and was punished by removal
from the service. The departments subsequent internal audit had uncovered various types of non-compliance with departmental instructions on revenue
collection procedures / practices in the shroff office, some of which had increased the risk of misappropriation of revenue collected, or had weakened the
control in detecting irregularities. The officers supervisor, who was responsible for monitoring the proper functioning of the shroff office at the material
time, had failed to perform his supervisory and control role vigilantly. He was punished for failure in discharging his supervisory responsibility

(x)

An officer was criminally convicted of Misconduct in Public Office for having abused his official position in the award of government contracts to a
company in which his relatives held interests. It was also revealed that the immediate supervisor of this officer, despite several complaints from the
officers subordinate concerning possible irregularities in the procurement exercises handled by the officer, failed to report the complaints to his seniors and
take reasonable actions to investigate into the complaints. Formal disciplinary action was taken against this supervisory officer, and he was subsequently
awarded a punishment together with a caution of removal from the service in the event of further misconduct
(Ref : para. 6.11)

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