Probes by Hong Kong's ombudsman reach 5-year low amid focus on mediation
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A comparison of the latest annual report from Ombudsman Jack Chan Jick-chi on Wednesday with past versions also found that a section on cases related to government information requests had been removed for the first time, while a chapter on 'promoting a positive complaint culture' had been added.
One of the watchdog's main roles is to investigate complaints and identify deficiencies, mainly through making inquiries, conducting full investigations or mediating issues.
Over a 12-month period ending on March 31, the ombudsman received 4,402 complaints, with only 40 leading to full investigations and representing a 58 per cent decrease from the 95 recorded in the previous period.
According to the watchdog's guidelines, full investigations are launched for 'complex cases' that often involve serious maladministration and require more in-depth inquiries.
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The figure for the 2024-25 period marked a five-year low, with the number of full investigations conducted in 2022-23, 2021-22 and 2020-21 standing at 141, 92 and 167, respectively.
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