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South China morning post
Why Hong Kong Police Received HK $ 180 Million in Donations Last Year and Spent Near HK $ 65 Million on Food
The Hong Kong police welfare fund received about 180 million Hong Kong dollars ($ 23 million) in donations last year, more than 26 times the previous year, according to documents to be submitted by the force to the city legislature. Police Welfare Fund Annual Report for the 2019-20 financial year, total spending also nearly tripled to HK $ 114.36 million, with spending on “refreshments for special duty police officers” recorded the largest increase to HK $ 64.85 million, 52 times more than the previous year, when only HK $ 1.22 million was spent, but the annual report, which will be presented to the Legislative Council at its meeting on Wednesday, did not include information on donors , nor did he give details on each of the points listed. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the great stories originating from China. Established under the Police Force Ordinance, the fund’s main objective is to provide amenities for the enjoyment of officers, former officers, and their dependents. It also makes loans, grants, bonuses, and gifts to them and to the families of deceased officers. About 95 percent of the fund’s income comes from donations, the rest from bank interests, the hiring of police services, and the sale of souvenirs. , the fund’s account came out of the red in 2019-20 to a surplus of HK $ 73.95 million. In 2018-19, it had a deficit of HK $ 19.89 million. In spending, the report showed that in the last financial year the total spending was HK $ 114.36 million, which represented an increase of 190.4% compared to 2018-19, when the amount was 39, 38 million Hong Kong dollars. In addition to spending on refreshments for officers in special duties, grants to officers in distress also saw a 50% jump to HK $ 9.78 million, from HK $ 6.51 the previous year. the officers were on duty every day, “said a police source. “For operational needs, they sometimes needed to work long hours outside and may not be able to return to the police station to eat. There were also times when they didn’t have time to sit down to eat. “Therefore, officers were given snacks, energy bars, cakes, cookies or drinks to consume when on duty.” Other supplies also included basic necessities such as toothpaste. , toothbrushes and medications, depending on the source. Aftermath of the protest in Hong Kong: what is the biggest challenge for the police? Another police source said that the funded supplies included folding beds and sleeping bags, as well as massage chairs, costing between HK $ 5,000 and HK $ 6,000 each, placed in places like the auxiliary police force headquarters. in Kowloon Bay, and the police sports and recreation club in Mong Kok, where officers were mainly posted while on standby or taking a break during social unrest. Some of the money was also used for the expenses of officers who obtained approval and received medical treatment in private hospitals after they were injured during the protests. In a statement released late Monday, the police force said there were strict procedures for examine the donations and that the accounts would be audited by the Audit Commission before being sent to Legco. The force also said it received a considerable number of inquiries from members of the public about how they could donate to show their support for the officers. professionalism in handling social unrest, adding that it would not disclose where the money came from, in accordance with donors’ wishes.As for the cost of the snack, police said the money covered more than 30,000 officers, and the average spending by each officer was Elizabeth Quat, a member of the Legislative Council’s security panel, who said the increase in donations was proof that many residents supported the handling of the protests by force “during the social unrest of the last year”. He added: “The officers faced aggressive protesters on the front line. Many people would like to make donations to show them respect and support.” But former Democratic Party lawmaker Wu Chi-wai urged the police to name the big donors. “The police force is a sensitive government department,” he said. “It should show more transparency. The public has the right to know who forcibly donated money, if they are members of the general public donating HK $ 10 or HK $ 20, or if they are the Beijing liaison office or other pro-Beijing groups. ” The officer who was severely burned at the protest ‘does not want to know who hurt me’ In response, Quat said that making such information public could expose donors to the risk of retaliation from anti-government elements in the city. “Donating money to the welfare fund is not donating money to individual agents,” he said. “It is for the entire police force. The force has a mechanism to evaluate whether a donation should be accepted or not ”. According to the police, the day-to-day administration of the fund is carried out by a committee, which is chaired by the deputy police commissioner in charge of managing the force. Members of the public can also ask the committee to inspect information about the donations it receives. At the height of social unrest last year, there were a series of donation drives by the pro-establishment camp to show its support for the police force. The Hong Kong Association, which has former Hong Kong CEOs Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying as honorary sponsors, made a donation of HK $ 10 million in July last year. Both are now vice chairs of China’s main political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, the Hong Kong Association for the Promotion of the Peaceful Reunification of China and the Hong Kong Federation of the Chinese Overseas Association. They were also among the pro-Beijing groups that reportedly made donations of HK $ 1 million each to the police. More from South China Morning Post: * Donations to Hong Kong activist groups, opposition analyzed as police freeze bank accounts, allege money laundering activities * Protests in Hong Kong: police will appeal court decision for failing to show identification * Police bill of around HK $ 95 million for water barriers, safety accessories ‘split among 22 Hong Kong government agencies and unidentified in budget’ * Almost HK $ 1 billion spent on overtime pay to police since that the Hong Kong protests broke out in June. ear, and spent nearly HK $ 65 million on food was first featured on the South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post, download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
