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Sir Six Cheung the senior Unofficial Member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council who was knighted in the New Year's Honours List, called on me on 3 January. The main topic discussed was the recent police disturbances.
2. Sir S Y was convinced that the decision to grant an amnesty was wrong. He did not lay the blame on the Governor who, in his view, had taken the only possible decision in the light of the advice he had received. Sir S Y maintained that it was the advice which was wrong and was known to have been wrong by those police officers who offered it. He was certain that this was a deliberate act on the part of these officers and was not simply a failure on their part to appreciate that a morale problem existed within the Force.
3. Sir S Y accepts Mr Cater's statement that syndicated corruption has for the moment been beaten (although he was doubtful whether the general public accepts it) but he feels that it will soon reappear. He believes that the senior members of the Hong Kong police can be divided into three categories with only a very few exceptions:
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(a) those who have already saved enough money from corruption on which to retire and are now looking for an opportunity to do so;
(b)
those who have been making money but have been spending it and are now facing the choice of a substantial drop in their standard of living or a return to corruption;
(c) those who have had as yet no opportunity to accumulate illicit funds are are resentful of this.
It is Sir S Y's contention that those in group (b) will soon revert to organised corruption and will find ready accomplices from group (c). He also believes that by granting an amnesty the Governor has made it more difficult to prove the guilt of officers suspected of new corruption. According to the law, suspects have to prove that funds believed to have been obtained from corruption were obtained legitimately. Sir S Y explained that they could now simply claim that such funds were the results of corrupt acts committed before 1 January 1977.
5. Sir S Y urged the introduction of fresh expatriate blood into the RHKPF in the form of new recruits, in substantial numbers, from the UK. He also agreed with my suggestion that it would help morale and communications within the Force if there were Chinese officers at a more senior level.
6 January 1978
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JAB Stewart
Hong Kong & General Dept
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