BACKGROUND NOTE
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CORRUPTION IN THE ROYAL HONG KONG POLICE FORCE
1.
under FOI exemption 40(2)
the Governor
of Hong Kong set up the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), which was charged with the task of investigating corruption in both the public service and the private sector in Hong Kong. The Commission are also responsible for a programme aimed at educating the public on the evils of corruption and for prevention of corruption, for example, by identifying weaknesses in procedure
that encourage corruption.
2. From the start, one of the principal concerns of ICAC has
been to rout out corruption from the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. Nearly half of the cases they have investigated involved complaints
against the police. These investigations have led to more than 260 prosecutions and to the conviction of over 130 police officers on corruption charges.
3. By last autumn ICAC had succeeded in eliminating all syndicated corruption from the Police. However, their activities led to discontent within the Police Force, which erupted in a near mutiny last November. As a result of this, the Governor announced a partial amnesty in respect of corruption offences committed
prior to 1 January 1977. Among those excluded from the amnesty were people who were already under investigation by ICAC, among whom the biggest group were those suspected of involvement in the activities of a drug marketing organization operating in the
Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market.
4.
In all some 300 officers were believed to be involved, of whom
some 150 were already under investigation before the amnesty. It has proved difficult to establish that there was a single large syndicate involved, which meant that the Attorney-General faced the prospect of having to bring a large number of separate prosecutions. Simply because of the time it would take to do this,