Ms Wong has paid a very high price for her sense of duty and perseverance. Piling problems in the private sector in the summer of 1998 and allegations of malpractice on a site in Tung Chung triggered not only an investigation by the Housing Department, with the ICAC, on this site, but also a heightened alert on others. It was this detective work which first revealed similar problems in Yau Tong and led ultimately to the decision to drill all of the piles at Yuen Chau Kok. We are all aware of the results. Madame President, I believe that any objective examination of the facts will show that the leadership of the Authority and the Department not only recognised the potential problems, but set about in a proactive and systematic manner to pinpoint and then expose them to public scrutiny.
Nobody can surely suggest a cover-up.
Indeed, Ms Wong and Mr Miller have from the start demonstrated a single-minded determination to root out the rotten apples from this particular barrel. On their own initiative, they inspected all the ongoing Housing Authority projects to identify quality problems, then candidly and unreservedly informed the public of their findings. Now, having unearthed the evidence for the prosecution, so to speak, Ms Wong and Mr Miller find themselves in the dock. Ms Wong and Mr Miller are two of our most capable and experienced public servants. Certainly, nobody has impugned their personal integrity.