Dear Mr. Wilson,
55 Kung ek Road, Kwun Tong,
Kowloon, Hong Kong.
29th. June, 1973.
193/0
The following is an article I am writing in a local newspaper to which I contribute weekly. It is always translated to Chinese.
I regret that when your Government had power, you did
Can anything be done now?
an
not take action,r more than ten years I reported from time to time the corrupt activities of influential person in the Resettlement Depart- ment. Some of these reports gave detailed accounts of his activities. Others showed how much damage he had done to individuals who paid no bribes, and therefore how much he had contributed to dissatisfaction both in the Department among honest members, and among resettlement tenants.
In every case, the Anti-Corruption Branch found "ne evidence" and the charges were never sent to court. The result is that this man has been able to retire a millionaire, while his frien and relatives are installed in the best resettlement shops and reens,
Now that this man is retired, high-ranking officials of the Department are admitting that he was corrupt. Everyone knows his dirty reputation, but he does not care because he knows he is protected and will never be called upon by the Hong Kong Government to stand trial for his crimes against the community.
I have recently reported the activities of other resettlement officers, most of whom gained their promotion through such corrupt officials as this one who has retired. These others have likewise become rich on the sale of public property, from squeeze fram tenants, and from lying reports for promotions. When they retire, they too will take with them honour and wealth. They will leave behind dissatisfied tenants, widows' families broken, children on estates rebellious against authority, and all the mess and muddle that result from malpractices.
A Government servant who has not been in Hong Kong long enough to know that he will be sacked if he speaks out against injustice, told me that it appeared to him that a person is allowed to be as corrupt as he likes until he retires, ufter which his corruption is admitted, but we are told that it is now too late to do anything. Godber's case comes readily to mind. And it is a public outrage.
I personally can think of numerous cases where this has happened. Some of these guilty of starting the 1966 riots (all police) and guilty of framing many people in those riots, have retired with the Government's full knowledge of their oriminal activities.
And now we, the honest members of the public, are asked to fight crime (because the police do not de so). What can the public use to fight crime if the tools of justice are rotten? What can we do when the Government sets the criminals free to harass the innocent?
Yours sincerely,
E. Aisit
Elsie Elliott
JJ