ICAC Commissioner attends international anti-graft conference online while staying in Hong Kong to oversee corruption investigation

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HONG KONG, Dec. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ICAC Commissioner Woo Ying-ming, in his capacity of President of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA), earlier attended the IAACA Annual Conference held in Doha, Qatar and delivered an opening remarks through video conferencing.

Mr Woo was going to head a delegation to Doha to chair the IAACA Executive Committee meeting, attend the IAACA Annual Conference and host bilateral meetings with heads of anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) between December 12 and 14. In light of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Mr Woo decided to stay in Hong Kong to oversee the related corruption investigation, and chose to attend the Annual Conference through video conferencing.

Since the Commission assumed IAACA presidency in 2022, it was the first time for the ICAC to host the Annual Conference overseas. The event, which attracted over 250 graft fighters, government officials, international organisation representatives and prominent scholars from anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies of 80 jurisdictions worldwide, served as a platform to chart the path for enhancing global anti-corruption capability in the coming year. Mr Woo also took the opportunity to brief the international counterparts the comprehensive rescue and relief measures taken by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government after the Tai Po fire.

"Following the tragedy, the government and the community work hand in hand to support the affected families. Apart from providing financial relief and accommodation, the government is also drawing up measures to enable the society to gradually return to normalcy. The ICAC, being the sole anti-corruption agency in Hong Kong, has launched a full investigation into possible corruption in the incident in order to bring lawbreakers to justice. As ICAC Commissioner, it is my duty to stay in Hong Kong at this critical juncture to oversee the progress and professionalism of the investigation," Mr Woo shared in the video.

Mr Woo added that despite the challenges brought by the fire incident, the HKSAR Government conducted the Legislative Council General Election last Sunday as scheduled, as it was essential for the Government to work with the new legislature on legislative and systemic reforms as soon as possible to prevent reoccurrence of similar tragedies. "The ICAC also plays a crucial role in ensuring the integrity, fairness, justice and order of this public election. It demonstrates that the Government and citizens are working shoulder to shoulder to maintain constitutional order. It also shows our respect for the rule of law and our determination to create a brighter future," Mr Woo said.

Mr Woo expressed his gratitude to Advocate Andy JL Mothibi, Head of the Special Investigating Unit of South Africa and the Vice President of IAACA, for hosting several important meetings in his stead.

Apart from organising the IAACA conferences and coordinating related tasks, the ICAC team also attended other international anti-corruption conferences in Doha from December 14 to 19, including the Steering Committee Meeting of the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE Network) under the United Nations to discuss its future development goals and work strategies. Joining the Chinese Mainland delegation, the ICAC team also participated in the 11th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption to discuss the implementations and executions of the Convention with over a thousand members of the state parties. The ICAC team will also share the Commission's latest anti-corruption initiatives at various side events, covering diverse topics including the Corruption Risk Management Guide for Prison Systems, "Coding4Integrity Hackathon", technology-driven anti-corruption strategies, financial investigation techniques, methodologies on measuring the effectiveness of ACAs, etc.

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