Probe Into Loss Of Voter Data Draws A Blank

A probe by election officials about the loss of a register containing personal information of 8,000 Tsing Yi voters in 2016 has failed to ascertain when and how the document was lost.

The lost register was last seen during the Legco elections of 2016. It contained personal information such as the names, addresses and ID card numbers of the voters.

The report did find that election officials were told to look for the register because the ICAC wanted to probe alleged election fraud.

Some middle-ranking officials did look for the document for a year, but were told to stop searching by two high-ranking officials at the Registration and Election Office in late 2017.

Because of that, the top officials didn't give enough priority and urgency to the missing document, said Barnabas Fung, the head of the Electoral Affairs Commission.

The probe also found that the office's head, Wong See-man, was told about the lost register in early 2018. But he had said publicly in April that he didn't know about it.

Constitutional Affairs minister Patrick Nip said he was disappointed by the whole incident. But he said if any officials were to be held accountable over this, they would be subject to the Civil Service disciplinary mechanism.

Fung said in future, if materials with crucial information go missing, officials should report the matter to the authorities within six months, so bodies such as the Privacy Commission can publicise the case.