The Hong Kong Bar Association has proposed introducing targeted legislation to criminalise bid-rigging and make key construction safety guidelines legally binding, following the city’s deadliest fire in seven decades.
The association formed a task force to review existing legislation after the Tai Po fire last month, with one of the preliminary goals being to criminalise bid-rigging, currently classified as “serious anti-competitive conduct” under the Competition Ordinance and punishable only by fines, according to its chairman Jose-Antonio Maurellet.
“[Bid-rigging] is not in itself a criminal activity and therefore the punishment and the deterrence level may not be sufficient,” Maurellet told the Post, even though the related offences such as bribery could lead to imprisonment.
“When we look at what has happened recently, then you realise that bid-rigging is not just sometimes about paying an extra five dollars or having a slightly less quality product,” Maurellet said. “It can actually cost your life. It can actually harm you and harm your property.”
Acknowledging the difficulty of proving agreements among parties involved in bid rigging, Maurellet said that targeted legislation could deter such activities.
