Hong Kong leader CY Leung interfered with HK$50m fee inquiry only to clear his name, critics argue

Chief executive maintains he amended document to broaden scope of the investigation by lawmakers and ensure no stone was left unturned

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Pan-democrat lawmakers (from left) Lam Cheuk-ting, Kenneth Leung; and Andrew Wan Siu-kin believe the select committee's next meetings should not be held behind closed doors. Photo: David Wong

Published: 10:15pm, 16 May 2017Updated: 10:57pm, 16 May 2017

The 47 amendments secretly penned by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying on the proposed direction of a probe into a HK$50 million payment he received could have led the inquiry panel into reaching a conclusion favourable to him, critics say.

That view counters Leung’s argument that rather than interfering, he was only helping to “broaden” the scope of the Legislative Council investigation into the money he received from Australian firm UGL after he became the city’s leader as part of a “resignation arrangement” with the company.

Pan-democrats who initiated the probe want to find out whether Leung had complied with legal requirements for the chief executive to declare interests when and after he assumed office. They also want to determine whether the agreement gave rise to any conflict of interest in his capacity as Hong Kong leader.

Leung Chun-ying before the weekly meeting of the Executive Council on Tuesday. Photo: David Wong

As exposed by the Legco secretariat and confirmed by Leung on Tuesday, he quietly made amendments to a document that laid out the “study area” drawn up by lawmakers in the inquiry committee earlier.

Pro-establishment lawmaker Holden Chow Ho-ding submitted the revisions to the committee, without revealing Leung’s involvement. But Microsoft Word showed that changes in the file were traced to the computer user name “CEO-CE” (chief executive).