(Photo: South China Morning Post)Raphael Chan entered Hong Kong’s construction industry in the mid-1990s convinced that quality building work could improve people’s lives. Chan (a pseudonym, used at his request) has also helped the Independent Commission Against Corruption in its investigations into such syndicates. To ensure profits, syndicates targeted older private estates with more than four blocks, Chan said. The syndicates he encountered, including contractors and consultants, held weekly meetings, but always on the mainland, often in saunas where all men went naked to evade surveillance recordings. The founder of the Property Owners’ Anti Bid-Rigging Alliance, who also worked for a main contractor, said it was hard to eradicate corruption.

Source: Bangkok Post December 24, 2025 21:50 UTC