The wealth of Godber accrued partly from protection racketeering for vice
yndicates and illegal places, including international drug trafficking rings d partly from "cash gifts" and other considerations he received from police officers who sought "quickee promotions" or transfers to lucrative posts which will bring them immense opportunities for corruption and protection racketeering. It is a matter of common knowledge that in some areas of the Hong Kong Police Force, postings, promotions and transfers of its staff have been and are being influenced by "cash gifts" and other considerations according to the following rough scale:-
Promotion to Station Detective Sergeants Promotion to District Detective Chiefs
Transfer to post of Station master in
lucrative Police Stations
Transfer of a Constable from Uniform Section
HK$
200,000 to
600,000
300,000
600,000
30,000
to
60,000
(A) 20,000
30,000
(B) 50,000
60,000
posts in lucrative Police Stations, such as mongkok, Yaumati, wanchai, Causeway", "Shatin etc.
to Flaincloth Section
Promotion from Corporal to sergeant, Uniform
Section
The figures in (B) apply tahatin etc.
It has been widely reported within the public service that the promotion of detective inspector Tang Wan to his present post as Chinese police detective chief for Long Kong Island was the direct result of a "cash gift" in the amount of HK$600,000 which he could easily recover from corruption and protection racketeer- ing within 2-3 months after assuming this lucrative post, When I was still at school in the late fifties, I already learnt that the fee for transfer of a cons- table in the uniform section to the C. I. D. as a detective was HK$5,000.
Godber acquired the greater part of his wealth in his office as Deputy District Police Commander, Kowloon whose duties are concerned partly with postings, transfers and promotions of police officers under his command.
6. It is estimated that in the C.I.D. section of the Hong Kong Police Force at least
70% of its members' are corruptive and taking protection Loneys from vice rackets and illegal places of course with the exception of those whose duties have nothing to do with outdoor investigations or
those which are of a technical nature.
The Chinese police detectives attached to the C.I.D. are the most corruptive either in the Force itself or in the community as a whole. If a police detective does not take bribes, he would soon find himself isolated from his colleagues ; he would either be "frozen" or transferred to posts in exile, e.g. those in outlying islands. You are completely justified in suggesting to the Foreign Secretary that the Godber case be investigated by a team of Scotland Yard detectives. It can be seen that unless this is done, there will never be a thorough and vigorous probe into the circumstances surrounding Godber's departure from Hong Kong and corruption in the Police Force generally for the simple reason that some of the members of the Police Anti-Corruption Branch here are corruptive themselves. If such scandals continue to be covered up and concealed from the public, it is the British authority and influence in Hong Kong that will suffer.
In order that reputation of and public confidence in the authorities may be restored, suspect Godber must be extradited and bräught back to Hong Kong for trial; any con- tinued cover-ups will only have the opposite effect.
As police corruption in Hong Kong is serious and widespread affecting the well-being of all citizens and resulting in increases in crime rates, public opinion should be mobilised to bring about a solution to the problem. Az a citizen of Hong Kong, I pray that you will kindly extend to us all local residents assistance in the following ways-
(a) calling upon the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary bringing to their
attention the real picture of the Godber case;
(b) raising the Godber case in the British Parliament & causing it to be debated; (c) holding a press conference so that greater publicity may be given to the case. with many thanks for your efforts and high admiration for your integrity,
C.C. The British Prime Minister
lir. Edward Heath
The British Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Mr Harold Wilson, British MP fr John Tilney, British MP
Tilney.
(2)
Yours faithful
Fun Ting Chau