37. Part V of the Ordinance deals with a number of miscellaneous matters. Section 27 enables the court to report to the Attorney General frivolous, false, or groundless allegations. Section 28 empowers the Supreme Court and the District Court to award costs to a defendant who is acquitted of an offence under Part II. Section 29 makes it an offence to make a false report of the commission of an offence under the Ordinance or otherwise to mislead a police officer or person named in an authorization given under section 13. Section 30 prohibits the unauthorised disclosure of the fact that a particular person is subject to investigation or any details of the investigation. This provision was apparently enacted because it was felt that such a disclosure, by alerting the suspect, could frustrate the investigation. Section 31 prohibits the institution of a prosecution for an offence under Part II without the consent of the Attorney General. He may delegate his power as regards offences under Part II other than section 10. But no prosecution for an offence under section 10 may be instituted without the personal consent of the Attorney General or the Solicitor General. However, section 31 permits the preliminary steps of arrest and remand in custody or on bail before such consent is given. Section 32 empowers the court, on the trial for an offence under Part II, to convict the accused of any of the other offences under that Part, if the evidence justifies this. Where there is a variance between the particulars of the offence charged and the evidence adduced, the court may make the necessary alterations in the particulars. Section 33 dis- qualifies persons convicted of offences under Part II from being registered as electors or voting at Urban Council elections or from being members of any public body for a period of 7 years.
38. The extent to which the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance Cap. 201 was inspired by similar legislation in Singapore, Malaysia and Ceylon may be seen from the table annexed to this report and marked “E”.
The Advisory Committee on Corruption
39. The Advisory Committee was formerly known as the Standing Committee on Corruption. The original committee was appointed on 31st October 1956. The Chairman was a Principal Crown Counsel nominated by the Attorney General and the other members were the Establishment Officer and the Director of the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. Its terms of reference were:
"(i) to keep under review the incidence of corruption in the public service;
(ii) to advise the Government on measures to be taken to reduce corruption and the opportunities
for it and to facilitate its discovery;
(iii) to examine the measures taken by departments to reduce corruption and to advise Government
how these can be improved or co-ordinated."
It was never the intention that the Committee should be an executive body. It was merely a standing advisory committee whose members were, at all times, available for consultation.
40. In 1960 it was felt that it should be strengthened; and on 16th March that year a new committee was appointed consisting of the following persons:-
Chairman: The Attorney General
Members: The Establishment Officer,
Deputy Commissioner of Police,
Three unofficial members of Executive Council.
The terms of reference were:
"to consider and keep under review the extent of the problems presented by corruption in relation to
the public service of Hong Kong, and to make recommendations from time to time."
41. In their first report to the Governor, the new committee proposed that there should be established three working parties responsible to the committee with the following terms of reference:
"A. Working Party on Public Co-operation
To study how best to secure a new approach to the public and to prepare plans to this end. B. Working Party on Departmental Procedures
To study the existing performance and procedures of Government Departments whose day-to-day contacts with the public render them most vulnerable to corrupt practices and to put forward proposals for improving the procedures.
C. Working Party on Legal and General Matters
To consider what new measures, legislative or otherwise, compatible with the rights of the in- dividual in a free society, can be introduced to strengthen the hand of those responsible for bring- ing corrupt persons to book."
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