From The Minister of State
(8
The Rt Hon The Lord Goronwy-Roberts
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
ARK 380/2.
5 January 1978
of
Redacted under FOI exemption 40(2)
(103
PREV. FILE
Sten
IN.
See
I am replying to your letter of 21 December to David Owen about the death of Liu Ping Hon on 26 July 1977.
·
This incident was investigated by the Hong Kong Police Force as soon as it was reported. Only one eye witness could be found;
and his evidence merely confirmed the police hypothesis that Liu Ping Hon had fallen from the roof of a tall building near his home. A medical examination revealed that Mr Liu's injuries were entirely consistent with a fall of this nature:
An inquest was held on 27 September 1977 and the jury, unanimously, returned an open verdict. Former friends of Mr Liu maintained that he was not a suicidal type, and it was suggested that his death was, in some way, connected with his work in the Yaumati Police Station and the activities of the Independent Commission Against Corruption. No positive facts to support this second contention have been produced.
After an approach from
the Hong Kong Bar Association asked for the reopening of the inquest. Their request was turned down by the Attorney-General in Hong Kong. However, in view of the level of public interest in the incident, the Commissioner of Police has asked the Director of Criminal Investigations to re-examine the matter. In the hope that some new evidence may be uncovered a special investigating squad has been established for this case. Its investigations should completed later this month.
}