This is untrue. The programme to improve public servant pay started in the 1960s because British businesses were struggling with local corruption. (The Brits didn't do it out of the kindness of their colonizer hearts!) As a result, public servant pay was increased dramatically, then indexed with inflation, to ensure that most public servant roles were middle class and above. This greatly reduced corruption. If you think that having big trials about corruption is a sign that you country has a lot of corruption, I would say just the opposite. Having those big trials is proof that your anti-corruption police force (ICAC) and the court system is working. To be clear, I know if this changing since Hongkong became a single party state in the last few years.
