One of the latest to join the list was Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam, who spent HK$5,000 (S$937) in the town of Tai Po on Thursday, reported the South China Morning Post.

His deputy Raymond Tam, together with Ms Florence Hui and Mr Kenneth Chen, undersecretaries for Home Affairs and Education respectively, emulated his act while accompanying him on the outing.

Last month, Chief Executive Donald Tsang spent more than HK$10,000 at the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo in Victoria Park, and Chief Secretary Henry Tang and two other members of his Cabinet followed suit a week later, spending HK$6,000 on a tour of shops in Causeway Bay.

Shopping in front of television cameras to encourage people to spend has become a popular activity for government officials, remarked the newspaper.

Mr Lam's group was invited to Tai Po by the Joint Coalition Against the Financial Tsunami, a grouping of more than 1,000 Hong Kong enterprises which has sworn not to lay off workers in these troubled times.

Mr Lam spent about HK$5,000 on various items, some for his wife and daughter, and others for donation to charities. The undersecretaries spent hundreds of dollars each.

Responding to the criticisms of some shoppers that they were 'staging a show', Mr Lam said Cabinet secretaries and lawmakers needed to 'take the lead and set an example' to encourage people to have confidence in the economy in view of the financial crisis.

One of the shop owners who benefited from the group's spending supported its efforts, saying: 'At least, this activity will help us a bit.'