You recall the fun and games when the Chinese media went after Apple as part of the Consumer Day “celebrations,” right? CCTV led the charge, followed by various Op/Eds and in-depth reporting on the U.S. MNC’s product warranty policy. Whether Apple was in violation of the law or not, it certainly was slammed upside the […]

The Department of Justice says it is appropriate for the Independent Commission Against Corruption to conduct a criminal investigation into allegations against former ICAC commissioner Timothy Tong.

The current commissioner, who was not involved in the alleged misconduct, will lead a dedicated team to investigate the matter.

The department said today there is sufficient basis for a criminal investigation into allegations of possible misconduct in public office and bribery offences.

It said although Police have the expertise to investigate criminal offences, the commission is a specialist investigation body, and in addition to its vast knowledge and experience in handling such complaints, has an established internal team for investigating allegations of wrongdoing or abuse by its officers.

The department has not formed a view on whether to prosecute, as such a decision will be made after a criminal investigation is done.

The commission sought legal advice from the Secretary for Justice in response to public complaints about its former commissioner, and will seek legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions to ensure impartiality.

Hong Kong’s law and order situation remained stable in the first quarter of the year, with overall crime down 5.2% on the same period last year.

Briefing the media after attending the Fight Crime Committee meeting today, Secretary for Security TK Lai said there were 17,556 crimes reported during the period, 961 less than the first three months of last year.

He said crime rates dropped in several areas, including violent crime (6.5%), robbery (27.2%), burglary (16.7%), theft (9.4%), and serious drug offences (3.2%).

Crimes recording increases included homicide (100%), rape (59.1%), indecent assault (18.4%), and deception (11.5%).

There were 522 serious drug offences, with 465 involving psychotropic drugs. There were 143 young people arrested for serious drug offences.

Mr Lai said there was a substantial increase in the amount of drugs seized, including heroin (47.1%), cannabis (450%), 'ice' (160%), ketamine (43.6%), and cocaine (287.5%).

He said the Government will continue its zero-tolerance attitude on drug-related crime. Police will co-operate with international agencies and strengthen cross-departmental intelligence in stopping drugs from entering Hong Kong.

On youth crime, he said the number of young people arrested continued to drop, with 153 less juveniles (aged 10 to 15) and 119 less young persons (aged 16 to 20) arrested in the first quarter. Of the people arrested for triad-related crimes and robbery, 49.8% and 51.4% respectively were young people.

He said Police will be vigilant and maintain close contacts with schools and other youth organisations in fighting youth crime.

Secretary for Security TK Lai has rejected claims Police are making politically-motivated arrests, saying an arrest is only made if there are reasons to believe, or evidence showing, a person has breached the law.

He made the statement today in response to media enquiries on claims Police have made arrests to serve political purposes.

He said law-abiding citizens have no reason to fear arrest, adding Police will handle and record reports of crime or involvement in crime in accordance with established procedures.

He urged people making enquiries with Police not to abuse report room services, as it could hinder those in genuine need of help.

He said any attempt to interfere with the operation of police report rooms could constitute the offences of obstructing police officers or wasting police manpower.

An investor consortium led by CITIC Capital Partners says it has signed a definitive merger agreement to take NASDAQ-listed Chinese company AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. private in a $890 million deal. Beijing-headquartered AsiaInfo-Linkage is a software and IT services provider to the telecommunications industry. The buyer consortium is led by $2.6 billion-under-management CITIC Capital Partners and Edward […]

Visit ChinaMoneyNetwork.com for more great China Money Podcast audio and video Internet episodes covering important investment news and financial events in China, as well as daily news updates on important China business news happenings. Follow us on Twitter @chinamoneypod subscribe to all episodes on iTunes.

China's total social financing reached RMB1.75 trillion, down 15% from that of the first quarter. It compares with a record-breaking RMB2.5 trillion in March, according to the People's Bank of China. While the pace of growth has slowed, April's number is still robust and indicates an easy liquidity environment in China. The numbers also beat […]

Visit ChinaMoneyNetwork.com for more great China Money Podcast audio and video Internet episodes covering important investment news and financial events in China, as well as daily news updates on important China business news happenings. Follow us on Twitter @chinamoneypod subscribe to all episodes on iTunes.