Following days of silence amid the government’s bottled water procurement controversy, Carlson Chan Ka-shun, Director of the Government Logistics Department (GLD), briefly appeared at the North Point Government Offices on Wedneseday morning without making any comments.
The GLD previously awarded a three-year contract exceeding HK$50 million to Xin Ding Xin Trade Co. (XDX) to supply "Xin Le Guan Yin Shan" bottled water, which was later revealed to be sourced from a factory in Dongguan.
Despite widespread concerns about the government’s procurement oversight since last week, Chan remained out of the public eye until today.
During his brief appearance this morning, Chan declined to be interviewed and did not respond to questions about why the contract was awarded, whether it involved any oversight, or how the department would cooperate with the police investigation.
In a social media post yesterday (Aug 19), the Audit Commission indicated it had met with Chan and other officials to review the tendering process for bottled water procurement, stressing that further action would be taken if any deficiencies or violations were found.
After the incident, the GLD suspended the relevant contract on August 16 and officially terminated it on August 18. The department reported that the government paid XDX a total of HK$2,268 before termination, stating that no additional payments would be made.
