(17260) Dd.397459 400m 12/72 G.W.B.Ltd. Gp.863 (16940) Dd.897300 400m 9/72 G.W.B.Ltd. Gp.363
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Registry
No. KK 14/16
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
Flag D
DRAFT LETTER
CONFIDENTIAL
Type 1 +
FROM
To:-
Sir Duncan Watson
Sir Murray MacLehose KCMG MBE Governor Hong Kong
Telephone No. Ext.
Department
Ministers have now given further careful
consideration to the question of the death penalty
in Hong Kong, following the reprieve of Tsoi. They
have agreed to take no steps to abolish the death
penalty in Hong Kong against your clear advice and
the apparently strong desire of the people of Hong
Kong that it be retained.
They stressed, however, that great care should
continue to be taken in Hong Kong in considering
reprieves. Reference had been made to the growth
of violence.
It was not clear whether there had
been a growth of capital crimes, and Ministers asked
that detailed figures of such crimes should be
obtained. They also asked for an analysis of the
grounds on which reprieves had been granted locally
in Hong Kong in recent years. This would be useful
in considering any cases which might in future be
the subject of petitions to The Queen.
I would be very grateful if these analyses could.
be put in hand as soon as possible. I suggest that
the appropriate base year would be 1966. On the
crime figures, perhaps you could bring up-to-date
and expand, as necessary, the table enclosed with
your letter to me of 8 March 1973.
CONFIDENTIAL
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