Pride comes before the fall

A tale of two women - Ah Zhen and Octopus Prudence - dominated news headlines, both English and Chinese, yesterday.

Both have been in the spotlight for the past two weeks. The difference is that while Prudence Chan Pik-wah is no stranger to dealing with the media in her capacity as a big-shot chief executive, Li Hau-chun - better known as Ah Zhen, a tourist guide - had been hiding from the press out of fear.

Ah Zhen, however, won a lot of sympathy points when she surfaced and apologized for the episode in which she was filmed berating Anhui tourists for not spending enough in Hong Kong.

At least she was frank in admitting she had been provoked by a tourist who used rude words during a shopping stop.

"I was really furious and could not control my emotions," said the divorcee with a teenage daughter, who came to Hong Kong from Hubei a decade ago.

But it was a totally different story for Chan, who found herself mired in quicksand. Not only was she caught lying and cheating the public over the sale of Octopus cardholders' data, calls for her resignation are now growing louder.

As I stated in Tuesday's column, she was asking for it. Instead of coming clean, she continued trying to wriggle her way out with words.

The main difference between Chan and Ah Zhen can be summed up in one simple word - truth.

Unlike Ah Zhen, who was brave enough to admit her mistake and ask for another chance to continue working as a tourist guide, the truth had to be squeezed out of Chan - even though it may not be the whole truth.

In the eight-hour inquiry before the privacy commission on Monday, she stunned the city when she revealed for the first time her firm, Octopus Holdings, had been paid HK$44 million since January 2006, in exchange for disclosing the personal information of clients.

Chan also admitted that during the 41/2 years ended June 30, Octopus provided the personal particulars of 1.97 million customers to six companies, including an insurance firm, Cigna.

Yes, as the CEO, Chan was trying to protect the interests of her company. But she also bears the responsibility of protecting the interests of her 2.4 million cardholders - especially as Octopus is among the world's most used electronic money devices.

With her experience and standing, she should have known better. The public has reasons to doubt Chan and the firm she is leading. She has been accused of "lying without blinking," and her credibility teeters on bankruptcy.

The HK$44 million is already no small sum, and who knows how much more Octopus is getting from the lucrative business of selling or sharing customers' personal data?

It's no secret such dealings occur daily in Hong Kong and the rest of the world.

It's time for top officials at the MTR Corp - being the biggest Octopus shareholder - to come out of their ivory tower and play a more active role.

After all, millions of MTR passengers use Octopus cards daily.

The public is crying out for blood, and heads must roll.