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NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry HKK
No.
DRAFT
14/18
LETTER
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
..In Confidence
To:
TC. Hetherington, asw
Legal Secretary,
Separtment
Type 1 +
From
43
Law
CRE,
Mr. Rushford
Telephone No. & Ext.
TO.
Office of the Attorney-
General Officers Ознай
Department
Arfs.
For the past year or møre the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office have been in consultation and
correspondence with Hong Kong over the terms of a
draft Bill (the Prevention of Bribery Bill) which
was prepared in Hong Kong and which the Governor is
most anxious to see enacted by the Colony's legislature
without delay.
The Bill (a copy of which is enclosed) is
designed to combat the evil of corruption which is
widespread throughout all walks of life in Hong
provision s Kong and it contains stringent measures for this
purpose which are more especially directed at the
provisions
public service. One of these measures in particular
(Clause 10) represents quite a wide divergence from
principles which are regarded in this country as
basic to our whole approach to the criminal law.
It is felt by Legal Advisers here that this clause
in in effect allows a public servant to be convicted
on suspicion of corruption where evidence of
corruption is not obtainable, and that it also
accused
exposes the accused to the risk of being judged
according to standards which, because they must be
subjective, are liable to be uncertain.
The matter has ultimately been put to Ministers
/who,...