Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency has charged five health inspectors over the theft of food samples bought with public money for radiation testing, including canned abalones, white truffle sauce and crab bisque.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Wednesday that the inspectors, aged 28 to 37, jointly faced one count of conspiracy to steal, while the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department noted the officers had been prohibited from working.
The five inspectors are Chan Ying-shan, Lam Hiu-kwan, Yu Fung-chun, Lau Shing-hin and Lee Chun-hei. They were previously posted to a team at the food import and export section under the Centre for Food Safety’s risk management division.
The group were released on bail, pending an appearance at West Kowloon Court on Thursday to enter their plea.
The commission said the inspectors had allegedly conspired between May 2022 and March of last year to steal food samples bought by the centre for testing.
The health inspectors were told by the centre to buy randomly selected food samples at fair and reasonable prices, it added.
The ideal food sample size for testing is typically about 1kg (2.2lbs), according to the commission.
It said the centre barred officers from ordering excessive food samples or misappropriating any untested items, with any unused goods to be accounted for and properly disposed of.
The five inspectors are suspected of using public money to buy more than HK$88,000 (US$11,270) from five importers for two radiation tests.
But the centre told the anti-corruption agency that the five had taken the remaining goods home after testing, ignoring rules to throw out the items and keep records of their disposal.
Investigators recovered more than 80 unused food samples at the five suspects’ homes, including canned abalone, white truffle sauce, crab bisque, Japanese rice and various types of pasta.
An ICAC spokesman said it had provided refresher training to department staff overseeing food testing, while reminding them to maintain a high standard of integrity as they performed their duties.
A department spokesman said it attached great importance to staff discipline and conduct and would not tolerate any illegal acts.
It had also adopted extra precautionary measures, including refining the working guidelines, streamlining procedures and enhancing the information system for the procurement and recording of food samples by the centre, he said.
