Duncan Warren Pescod is the former director of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, a statutory body of the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...

Career

Pescod joined the civil service in

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...

in August 1981. He became an official

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1998. Between June 2001 and November 2004, he was Deputy Commissioner for Tourism. Pescod was posted to Brussels as Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic Trade Affairs to the European Communities between 2006 and 2008. He received the Chief Executive's Commendation for Government/Public Service in 2006. From 2008 to 2010, he was Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Technology). From then till 2014, he was Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Housing) and Director of

Housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

. Upon his return from his post in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Pescod and his wife bought a house in

Clearwater Bay Clear Water Bay () is a bay on the eastern shore of Clear Water Bay Peninsula of Hong Kong, located within Clear Water Bay Country Park. There are two beaches at Clear Water Bay: " Clear Water Bay First Beach" and "Clear Water Bay Second Beach" ...

, Sai Kung, as a retirement home and investment. In 2012, during his tenure as chief of housing, ''

Ming Pao ''Ming Pao'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, ''Ming Pao'' established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and colle ...

Daily'' reported that several unauthorised structures had been found at this property. This negative attention came at a time when other prominent officials, including Chief Executive

CY Leung Leung Chun-ying (; born 12 August 1954), also known as CY Leung, is a Hong Kong politician and chartered surveyor, who has served as vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference since Ma ...

, were found to have similarly illegal structures. He retired from the

Planning Department Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

in 2014 after thirty-three years in the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

to join the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. Later that year he was awarded a

Gold Bauhinia Star The Gold Bauhinia Star (, GBS) is the highest Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system of the Order of the British Empire after the transfer of sovereignty to People's Republic of ...

for "contributions in the areas of economic and trade, communications and technology, as well as housing." He joined the semi-independent WKCDA as chief operating officer in October, and rose to the CEO position when Michael Lynch stepped down a year later. His prominent position at the WKCDA was not well received by lawmakers or the arts community. ''

EJ Insight The ''Hong Kong Economic Journal'' (HKEJ). is a Chinese-language daily newspaper published in Hong Kong by the Shun Po Co., Ltd.. Available in both Hong Kong and Macau, the newspaper mainly focuses on economic news and other related, usuall ...

'' noted it appeared to be a pro-government move at a time when 16 board members were due to retire at the end of their 6-year terms. At one point, the project was controlled by

Henry Tang Henry Tang Ying-yen (; born 6 September 1952) is a Hong Kong politician who served as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong between 2007 and 2011. He held the position of Financial Secretary from 2003 to 2007. In 2012, he lost the Hong Kong Chief ...

, failed Chief Executive candidate, whose appointment was seen as a conciliatory play by the elected victor Leung. Pescod was forced to resign from the WKCDA in 2020, not long before his term was due to end.

Personal life

Pescod was born in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, West Africa, and grew up in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. He went to

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...

in England between 1972 and 1977. He spent 1977 to 1981 at

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, at which he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with Honours. ''

'' reported in 2014 that he was living in a 5000sf house on

Victoria Peak Victoria Peak is a hill on the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak only generally. With an elevation of , it is the highest hill on Hong Kong Island, ranked 29 in terms of elevation in H ...

leased for $230,000 a month, of which he was paying just $16,000 due to civil service benefits. Pescod's forays into public life beyond the civil service include chairing the

Peak School Peak School () is a coeducational preparatory school, located on Plunkett's Road on Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The school is one of around twenty institutions in Hong Kong operated by the English Schools Foundation (ESF). The sc ...

Council, the Children's Heart Foundation and the Valley Rugby Football Club, and a position on the Board of the Ocean Park Corporation in the early noughties.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pescod, Duncan Living people People educated at Sedbergh School Alumni of the University of Leeds Hong Kong civil servants Government officials of Hong Kong Arts administrators 1959 births