CONFIDENTIAL
- 5 ·
XCC(69)50
(e) Clause 10: Possession of unexplained property.
Provision has been made in this clause for the Attorney General (which, by reason of the Legal Officers Ordinance (Chapter 87), includes the Solicitor General) personally to give approval for all prosecutions under this clause; moreover, before doing so, the Attorney General (or Solicitor General) will be required to give the suspected person an opportunity of making representations in writing before a decision to prosecute is taken. These safeguards have been inserted to meet strong criticism of this clause which could, if not used with care, constitute an objectionable intrusion into the private affairs of government officers.
The Commissioner of Police believes that the retention of this clause is most important if corruption in the public service is to be effectively tackled. His main reasons are
(i)
(ii)
the recipient of substantial gains from a series of corrupt transactions should not escape because his wealth cannot be linked to any specific acts of bribery; information obtained from delicate sources, which cannot be publicly disclosed, can
be employed to launch proceedings under clause 10.
This clause is one which Council will wish part- icularly to consider.
(f) Clause 13: Special powers of investigation.
Clause 14: Power to obtain information. Clause 14(1) is amended to protect the secrecy provisions imposed on officers of the Inland Revenue Department by section 4 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Chapter 112), in view of the objections of the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to the dis- closure of confidential tax information,
The Exchange Banks Association commented that in many instances the Banks are unaware of relation- ships between their various clients and provision has accordingly been made requiring the Attorney General in this clause to specify the actual names of the spouse, parents and children about whose accounts information is to be given.
CONFIDENTIAL