Outcry among lawmakers as Hong Kong Ombudsman removes years of archived reports

The Office of the Ombudsman will only permit public access to its archived reports through written requests starting on Tuesday, following the recent removal of years’ worth of records from its shelves, which sparked criticism from some lawmakers.

The watchdog of government authorities announced on Monday it had removed investigation reports and content it deemed “no longer to reflect the current situation” and had only retained reports from the past three years.

It said the public could apply for information not available on the Ombudsman’s website by completing a form, applications which the office would handle in accordance with the Ombudsman Ordinance.

During a website update in 2022, the Office removed what it termed obsolete investigation reports and kept reports from the previous 10 years.

However, the duration of records retained during a recent update of the website was shortened to three years. This means that investigation reports published before April 2023 were removed.

“After a thorough review, the Office has removed investigation reports and content that no longer reflect the current situation, retaining only those from the past three years,” it said. “The update can also prevent the website from being inundated with obsolete data and hindering public access to and search for required information.”

It claimed that all investigation reports and files were preserved for the long term and were not destroyed during the recent update of the website.