Lawmakers no substitutes for police

Following passage of the 2012 electoral reforms package, another issue is dominating news headlines.

This one is juicy because it involves big-name Henderson Land and its Mid- Levels project at No 39 Conduit Road.

A lot has been reported since the developer said it had secured a deal to sell a five-bedroom duplex at more than HK$70,000 a square foot. If completed, the transaction would have set a world record for the most expensive suite.

But the sale collapsed after the government stepped in to cool the property market, and the ill-fated deal remains at the center of a brewing row.

Politicians, including Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Wing-tat, are questioning why Henderson was satisfied with keeping the 5 percent down payment without going after the buyer - a shell company with an issued capital of HK$1 - for the difference in the event of default, and suspect there was something irregular.

The No 39 Conduit Road saga is a truly sensational issue. It has struck a raw nerve in the public because many people complain housing has become hopelessly unaffordable in the SAR. The lavish sum naturally raised many eyebrows as soon as the HK$439 million duplex deal was revealed in October.

But sensationalism apart, it would be in the public interest to keep a cool head as the community begins to debate whether there are any irregularities.

It would be more appropriate to leave it to professionals like the police to investigate if any laws were violated. Housing minister Eva Cheng Yu-wah's announcement that police have joined the Securities and Futures Commission in the probe is a step in the right direction. Should they uncover anything unlawful, the public could rightfully expect the government to take the developer and other concerned parties to task according to the law.

But if the probes fail to pin down any violation of the law, the public - even to its disdain - should show respect for the law and others' freedom to act within the legal parameters.

However, this shouldn't prevent government authorities from improving the mechanism of the real estate market no matter what the probe may dig up.

The Conduit Road controversy has already prompted the government to slap on a series of tough regulatory measures to make the property market more transparent and orderly, to spare buyers from undue influence by sales agents and developers at sales offices.

As said, this is a sensational issue. But it would not be in public interest to politicize it by turning it into a big-stick campaign against a big family name. This isn't the civilized way of life expected of a mature society like Hong Kong.

Shouldn't lawmaker Lee wait for the investigation results before wielding the big stick of the Legislative Council's powers and privileges ordinance?

At Legco's next meeting, Lee will move a motion to exercise the powers in relation to the Henderson case.

I'm not convinced that charged political debates will perform a better job than a police investigation.