Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury: GLD neglects to highlight anomalies in bottled water saga
發佈日期: 2025-10-26 19:50
TVB News
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui revealed more details about the bottled water scandal during an exclusive interview with TVB News.
He said officers from the Government Logistics Department, or GLD failed to report the suspicious signs to the Central Tender Board during the procurement process.
The Audit Commission's review indicates a procedural lapse -- despite two submissions of fraudulent documents by Xin Ding Xin Trading, GLD merely asked for resubmissions, instead of alerting the Central Tender Board.
Speaking with TVB News, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui suggested that the negligence was possibly due to time pressure.
He also put forward another scenario -- as GLD plays a crucial role in fostering broader participation in bidding, staff members might have been keen to facilitate new suppliers' compliance with government standards. And the staff in this case may have been thinking only from a facilitator's point of view.
According to general practices, tender results have to be approved by the chairperson of the Central Tender Board.
Did the chair notice anything wrong in advance?
Hui said, based on GLD's report, the department did not flag any issues to the Board, which would have allowed the Board to make informed decisions.
While he believes the event was inherently a scam, he will refer it to the relevant law enforcement entities, if criminal elements are discovered.
