The Hong Kong government has put on hold an award for a former director of logistics at the centre of a fraudulent water procurement contract, as the investigation into the scandal is ongoing.
Former director of logistics Carlson Chan “will not be included in the attendance list of the Honours and Awards Presentation Ceremony to be held on November 15,” the government said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Chan is still listed as a recipient of a 2025 Silver Bauhinia Star.
The former director is among “a number of officers at the frontline, middle and senior levels… involved in the investigation, which is still ongoing,” the government added.
The decision to remove him from the attendance list was made after consulting a special selection committee headed by the chief secretary, pending the outcome of the investigation, the statement also said. “The Government has already informed Mr Chan in this regard.”
Chan was replaced by Vicki Kwok, formerly the private secretary to Chief Executive John Lee, last month, after he was put on pre-retirement leave in September.
Under Chan’s leadership, the Government Logistics Department (GLD) awarded six contracts in March to mainland Chinese company Xin Ding Xin (XDX) to supply bottled water to government offices after an open tender.
The GLD halted the HK$52.9 million deal in August after XDX, which claimed to source water from a Guangzhou supplier, was found to have been supplying from Dongguan instead. XDX director Lui Tsz-chung and his wife were arrested over suspected fraud and providing false information.
Five days after the scandal broke, Chan apologised for his department’s oversight, saying there were “indeed inadequacies” in the procurement procedures.
Public outcry erupted, with the government facing questions about loopholes in its tendering and due diligence procedures.
Meanwhile, Lui appeared at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday.
Magistrate Kestrel Lam adjourned the case to January next year to allow for further investigations after the prosecution said that customs authorities were looking into whether additional charges would be filed.
