2013-05-02
Source: http://news.hkheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=236191§ion_name=wtt&kw=126
Former ICAC Commissioner Timothy Tong Hin-ming is a dead man walking. There is no way he can survive the scandal about his extravagant lifestyle during the five years he was in charge of the ICAC. The media has revealed (exposed, made known) that he spent nearly $300,000 of the public's money on lavish dinners and gifts. Most of this money was spent on mainland officials. The word extravagant means spending much more than necessary. People who spend a lot of money on clothes, jewellery (jewelry in American English), dinners, and so on have extravagant lifestyles. The word lavish has a similar meaning. For example, a dinner that includes expensive wine, lobster, and steak is a lavish dinner.
A
person sentenced to death who is being taken to his execution is called a dead man walking. This is because the man is walking his last walk to his death. But the expression also means a person who is in great trouble. Timothy Tong Hin-ming is definitely a man in big trouble. The ICAC is supposed to fight corruption. How can the man in charge of it spend $220,000 of the taxpayers' money on dinners and gifts? The media revealed he spent an additional $48,000 on cookies and mooncakes to give as presents. That was very extravagant indeed! The Legislative Council wants to investigate his lavish spending and some political parties have filed complaints about him to the ICAC.
Timothy Tong should repay the nearly $300,000 that he spent so lavishly (adverb). He should not just repay the money in cash. He should be punished by working to repay it. Hong Kong's minimum wage was increased to $30 an hour starting yesterday. He should be forced to do work that pays the minimum wage of $30 an hour, such as a toilet cleaner or a watchman in a building. Since his extravagance (noun) cost the public $300,000, he will have to work for 10,000 hours at $30 an hour to repay it. That means he will have to be a toilet cleaner for about three years if he works 10 hours a day.
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前廉政專員湯顯明現在已如行將就木（dead man walking），命途岌岌可危。有關他在任廉政公署五年期間過着奢華（extravagant）生活的醜聞，恐怕他也沒能為自己開脫。傳媒已經揭露（revealed或exposed）他花了近三十萬公帑在鋪張（lavish）的宴客和送禮之上，大部份還花費於內地官員。Extravagant解作奢侈、浪費金錢，過着奢華（extravagant）生活的人會花費大量金錢在衣裝、首飾（jewellery，美式串法為jewelry）和宴饗上。Lavish的意思亦相近，例如，一頓晚餐有貴酒、龍蝦和肉扒，亦可算揮霍（lavish）。
一個將要行刑的死囚被稱為 dead man walking，因為他要面臨死亡，走上人生的最後一程。但當人遇上極大的麻煩，也可用上這個習語。湯顯明絕對是深陷泥沼，廉政公署是為打擊貪污而設，它的頭目又怎能花費納稅人二十二萬的公帑在宴會與送禮上？傳媒揭露（revealed），他更額外花了四萬八千元的曲奇和月餅作為送禮之用。這絕對是揮霍（extravagant）之至！立法會要求調查他這種奢侈（lavish）的花費，有些政黨亦已就他的行徑向廉署立案投訴。
湯顯明應該償還那揮霍地（lavishly）花掉的接近三十萬元的金額，他不單要以金錢償還，還得懲罰他以工作還款。香港的最低工資由昨天起已升至時薪三十元，他好應被迫做最低工資三十元時薪的工作，例如廁所清潔工人或大廈保安。既然他的奢侈（extravagance，名詞）耗掉了公眾三十萬，他就應該以時薪三十元工作一萬小時來償還。即是說，他當廁所清潔工，得一天工作十小時，做滿三年才行。mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧