Mr Wilford
PS Mr Royle
PS
CONFIDENTIAL
DEATH SENTENCES: HONG KONG
Flag A
Flag B
FROBLEM
The Secretary of State has consulted the Governor again (FCO
telegram No 432) and has received his comments (Hong Kong
telegrams Nos 489, 490 and 491). We have to consider the next
step.
CONSIDERATIONS
(a) It has been suggested that the Commissioner of the High
Court who tried Mr Tsoi urged that an example should be made in
this case, and that this raised the possibility that the decision
to let the law take its course might have been taken as an act
of policy rather than on the merits of the case itself.
4B) ANNEX 2.
Flag G
under the
A
This probably relates to the last passage in the Commissioner,
Mr Morley-John's, formal report to the Governor of 7 November 1972.
This reads: "In my opinion this type of armed robbery has reached
alarming proportions in the Colony and Your Excellency may well
consider that an example should be made in the case of the
Royal Instructor
prisoner who is 28 years of age".
Such a report is a normal part of the procedure in Hong Kong
after sentence has been passed and before the Governor and
Executive Council consider a reprieve. In the report the Trial
Judge sets out the elements of fact and law in the case and in
/the finding
CONFIDENTIAL