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Extract. fc stil then Revied jalo 226
1.5.22-
Death Sentence
Ma
A convicted murderer, Tsoi Kwok-cheong, is awaiting the result of an appeal to H.M. The Queen as a last resort to save his life after the Governor in Council had refused to grant a reprieve. Following this case, four men and a woman were recently found guilty in another case of murder. The woman and three of the men were sentenced to death whilst the fourth man, who is under age, was remanded in custody pending a decision from the Queen.
Many newspapers gave full support to the death sentence and five of them commented on it editorially. These newspapers were:
Kung Sheung Evening Nowa (4.5.73)
Nam Wah Man Po Ch.5.73)
Hong Kong Times (5.5.73)
New Life Evening Post (5.5.73)
Wah Kiu Man Po (6.5.73)
Tai Po (8.5.73)
The papers believed that the decision will gain the fullest support from both the mass media and the general public.
"Most people of Hong Kong do not believe that killing can solve the problems. Yet the criminals are treating the peace-loving citizens of Hong Kong cruelly. Therefore, we must punish them heavily. We believe that the death sentence will have deterrent effects on criminals. The decision also shows us that the Fight Crime Campaign is not merely empty words," said Hong Kong Times.
"We believe that the Governor must have been considering the various factors such as our local conditions and the public opinion before he made the decision. If we do not kill one to warn hundreds, the orderly society of Hong Kong will be utterly destroyed by these small groups of criminals. Since the Governor is the representative of the Queen, we do not believe that Her Majesty would interfere with the Governor's decision," said New Life Evening Post.
"We expect that those "hypocrites" are going to start airing their nonsense soon. But we must point out that there has never been such a crime wave in the history of Hong Kong, and that there is no way to deter crime except heavy penalties," Kung Sheung Evening News commented, "Besides," the paper continued,
"it is unfair to the victims if we show mercy towards murderers. In order to show our determination to restore law and order, we should show no mercy to the::."
13..
"We would rather see a family cry than to have the whole city weep,' said Wah Kiu Man Po.
Heranwhile, Urban Councillor Wong; Bin-chuuk started a "million-people" signaturo drive in support of the Governor's decision not to grant a reprieve to Choy Kwok-cheong and in opposition to the telegram sent to London by seventy- one local residents condemning the arbitrary revival of hanging in Hong Kong.
Wah Kiu Man Po and Fai Po pledged their support to the drive.
"For the sake of strengthening the fight crime campaign and to show the true opinions of the public, we should give our fullest support to this signature drive. So, sign your name now!" said Fai Po.
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