Hong Kong scout association set for big subsidy cut after profiting from its Tsim Sha Tsui hotel

Home affairs minister Lau Kong-wah admits ‘inadequacies’ in handling subventions given to the group and promises to cut future subsidies

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BP International hotel and the Scout Centre in Austin Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:04pm, 27 Jun 2017Updated: 1:15pm, 28 Jun 2017

The Scout Association will see a substantial cut in its government funding after the charity came under fire over big earnings from a hotel it runs in Tsim Sha Tsui, the home affairs minister said on Tuesday.

The revelation was made in an audit report released in April which revealed gaping loopholes in government rules over the handling of discounted land and the tax-exempt status of charities.

The report pointed to one charity which it said received HK$300 million from the Social Welfare Department and the Home Affairs Bureau over the past two decades, even though it had accumulated a net profit of HK$829 million between 1994 and 2012.

Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah admitted there were “inadequacies” in handling the subventions given to the group and promised to cut future subsidies.

“The target of cutting subventions for the group was not up to speed and scale,” Lau told the Legislative Council’s public accounts committee on Tuesday .

He did not identify the group, but did not deny it when lawmakers asked questions about the Scout Association, which built a headquarters and hotel on Austin Road.