SECRET
300 police officers attached to the Yau Ma Tei Police Station were suspected of conniving at the operation of a major drugs distributon
centre in their district. About one-third of the suspects had not been interviewed at the time of the amnesty last November, and are therefore now exempt from further investigation. Of the rest,
•
1
105 have been arrested by ICAC (it was their arrest that precipitated last autumn's disturbances). Unfortunately it has proved impossible to establish that all the suspects were part of a single conspiracy, and the Attorney-General is therefore placed in the impossible situation of having to bring a very large number of separate prosecutions, all based on the evidence of the same witnesses. Since this is not feasible, he is having to try to select certain
cases to be prosecuted first.
5. All of this creates delay and uncertainty, and the situation
has been aggravated by the fact that certain of the procedures being used by ICAC have provided opportunities for the radicals within the JPOA to challenge the Government. They have not been slow to exploit this to create a feeling of genuine grievance and thus increase their support among the JPOA membership. The Hong Kong Government are aware of the urgent need to take swift decisive
action against those involved in the Yau Ma Tei case: we have just received a further telegram setting out how they propose to do this, on which I shall be submitting separately in due course. In the meantime, I recommend that the Minister should send a
telegram to the Governor assuring him of our support in taking a firm line against the JPOA should they show any inclination to
use their power to incite their members to mutiny. I attach a
draft.
8 March 1978
Cc:
PS/PUS
Mr Cortazzi Mr Rushford
1
J A B Stewart
Hong Kong & General Dept
support this.
2
SECRET
Goronwy - Roberts
"