More than 150 Hong Kong civil servants were dismissed for serious misconduct or criminal convictions over the past three financial years, with police accounting for the largest number of cases.

In a written reply to a lawmaker’s inquiry on Thursday, the Civil Service Bureau said 151 civil servants were dismissed for serious misconduct or criminal offences between 2022 and 2025, with the number of dismissals dropping steadily from 60 in 2022–23 to 51 in 2023–24 and 40 in 2024–25.

Of the total, 73 were dismissed for criminal offences and 78 for misconduct. Police recorded the highest number of dismissals, at 44.

The bureau said authorities would also revise the Public Service (Administration) Order and the Public Service (Disciplinary) Regulation to further optimise the disciplinary mechanism, including tightening rules on withholding salaries during civil servants’ suspension and confiscating withheld pay.

“We are currently revising these regulations, with the goal of implementing the revised provisions in 2026,” it said, without giving further details on how the rules would be tightened.

Under the existing disciplinary mechanism, if a civil servant was under investigation by his department for serious misconduct or by law enforcement for criminal offences, or if authorities initiated or intended to initiate disciplinary or criminal proceedings against them, the person could be suspended based on considerations of public interest.

The bureau added that suspension was an administrative measure instead of a disciplinary action.