85
113.
To the extent that the interest persisted for over a year and filtered through some of the more senior members of the Force, it was inordinate, particularly having regard to MacLennan's junior rank and the relatively minor offences of which he was suspected.
114.
115.
(a)
The inordinate interest could be attributed to two reasons:-
the resentment against MacLennan because, it was claimed, he had been disloyal in fighting the termination of his contract with assistance coming from outside the Police Force;
(b) a quite human and natural interest or curiosity in someone who had succeeded in "beating the system" by enlisting outside help or an interest in a Police Officer who had earlier been investigated for suspected homosexual activities.
The first interest was clearly improper; the second interest was not improper. Neither necessarily led to sinister conduct. Insofar as the first interest was a motivation for the investigation of MacLennan, it was an improper motivation. The second interest was not improper as a motivation.
116. I shall deal with this inordinate interest by first stating the attitude of Quinn and Brooks towards MacLennan after his reinstatement.
117. Chief Inspector Quinn. He is a very experienced detective inspector, having joined the Malaysian Police in 1951 and the Hong Kong Police in 1958. During his ten days on the witness stand, I have had ample opportunity to assess his credibility. I am satisfied that his evidence is substantially true, though his loyalty to the Royal Hong Kong Police Force and the need of self-interest might have coloured his evidence. He felt that it was a rather unjust decision that MacLennan had been dismissed "without his day in Court". He told Brooks about his reaction when he first saw the file in late 1978.34 He said that before the SIU had evidence on MacLennan, he had thought MacLennan should have his day in Court and his reaction to his reinstatement was "Good show, he's beat the system".35 However, after the SIU had gathered evidence against MacLennan, he described MacLennan in his reports as "brass-necked” and “arrogant” and as having the temerity to contest the termination of his contract.
118.
119.
120.
In a report dated 25 October 1979, Quinn stated:—36
"That more or less concludes the circumstances surrounding the termination and subsequent reinstatement of MacLennan. Officers from SIU/CID/PHQ were not tasked or directed to participate in the initial enquiry for the unit was not formed until after the initial complaint was lodged by the ex stn/Sgt. On 9 February 1979, the D/CIP/SIU submitted a report on general homosexual personalities. In this report, it was stated that no reliable information had surfaced to indicate that MacLennan is associated with any homosexual fraternity and that the only suspicion against him was the N.T. incident. Reliable sources however indicated that MacLennan was basking in the limelight of his voctory over PHQ and that he claimed it was his clandestine knowledge of top homosexual personalities that had forced Government to reinstate him”,
etc. etc.
37
In another report dated 19 November 1979, Quinn stated:-
"Having closely examined the case papers regarding the alleged incident at Yuen Long involving the C/youth Lau, I am of the opinion that MacLennan was guilty of Gross Indecency against Lau. This view is not meant to be disparaging towards the author of the investigation who had doubts of there being a prima facie case against him. It is fairly apparent from the fresh information obtained by SIU that MacLennan is a homosexual and was extemely fortunate to avoid prosecution in the original complaint. It is extremely unfortunate that having terminated his service, Government was forced to reinstate him. I consider MacLennan ‘Brass-Necked', to say the least, in having the temerity to contest the termination. This action indicates the type of person we are dealing with. His arrogant character reveals itself in his efforts to influence the SSO/P at the time of his termination of contract by inferring he is well aware of a homosexual fraternity within Government.
Superintendent Brooks. Under cross-examination Brooks said it was unprofessional for MacLennan to have sought outside help in the Yuen Long incident and not go through police channel. He said that most loyal Police Officers were of the same mind.
121.
Throughout his evidence, Brooks gave me the impression that his evidence was often non-committal and unconvincing; he did not answer questions with conviction. Some of the comments in his reports were unbalanced, indicating a resentment towards homosexuals in general and MacLennan in particular.
122.
In my view, the interests of Brooks and Quinn in MacLennan were of the second type up to the time of the vetting exercise. There is no evidence to suggest that they had developed any resentment against MacLennan, otherwise the vetting operation would not be a “low key" one resulting in a negative finding. However, when Brooks and Quinn
34
See Transcript pages 6847-6849.
35 See Transcript page 7158.
36
37
Paragraph 17 of the covering report in the Intelligence File.
Paragraph 28 of Quinn's Report in the Prosecution File.