A health inspector in Hong Kong has pled guilty to stealing food samples. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) had previously charged five inspectors at the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) with allegedly abusing their power by failing to dispose of unused food samples properly after testing. Lau Shing-hin, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of theft at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court.
Principal Magistrate Ivy Chui Yee-mei adjourned the case to November 6 and granted Lau bail. CFS is responsible for ensuring that the food sold in Hong Kong is safe and fit for consumption. At the time, Lau was working on a team in the risk management division’s food import and export section.
His duties included conducting radiation level tests on food. CFS requires inspectors to purchase a suitable amount of randomly selected food samples at a reasonable price for conducting tests. The agency prohibits officers from deliberately ordering excessive food samples or misappropriating any untested samples.
After conducting tests, unused food samples should be disposed of following the procedures, and disposal should be documented appropriately. Stolen food samples The ICAC investigation started after a corruption complaint regarding the purchase of food samples by CFS officers. The investigation revealed that the five defendants had planned to mishandle the leftover food samples before conducting the tests.
ICAC officials recover.