'Prompt action to tackle misbehaving civil servants'
The government said it will take more resolute action against misbehaving civil servants, after 51 of them were dismissed in the previous financial year.  That accounts for around a third of more than 150 government staff sacked in the past five years.  According to a paper submitted by the Civil Service Bureau to the Legislative Council, formal disciplinary action was taken against 1,124 civil servants for serious misconduct or criminal conviction from 2017 to 2022. Of them, 155 workers were fired.  "Going forward, we would continue to require bureaus or departments to take more resolute action promptly against officers with misconduct, so as to enable the cases to be handled in a fair and just manner, and be concluded within reasonable time and with punishment instituted expeditiously to achieve the necessary punitive and deterrent effect," the bureau wrote.  It added that another 70 staff were told to leave the civil service last year for refusing to sign a declaration to uphold the Basic Law and bear allegiance to the SAR.  Meanwhile, 59 officers appointed on probationary terms had either been fired or had failed to pass their probation period over the last three years.  Authorities said they’ve tightened the scrutiny of probationary civil servants by applying more stringent standards in assessing their performance, capabilities, potential and conduct. "We will for sure continue to rigorously uphold the loyalty and integrity of civil servants, in particular those appointed on probationary terms," the bureau said.