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be sufficient elimination of other possibilities. He did in fact telephone Ferguson of the Identification Bureau. Feron is a well-known fingerprint expert. Having been briefed about the circumstances, he decided that it was not necessary for him personally to attend the scene, but told Trotman that the note and the revolver, might be sent to the Identification Bureau for fingerprinting if thought necessary. In the event, only the revolver was fingerprinted. It is a matter for regret that the note was not sent for fingerprint tests.
159.
I accept that had a thorough fingerprint search been made of the entire flat, and had the hands of the deceased been examined for gunpowder residue, there would have been direct evidence indicating with certainty that no person other than MacLennan could have fired the weapon. Indeed, all the experts who testified before this Commission, were unanimous in their view that had the hands been tested for gunpowder residue, it would have been possible to confirm beyond all possible doubt that MacLennan had fired the revolver. As it was, all the experts and those investigating the scene, had to rely on other, though strong, evidence to prove the same point.
160.
Although I accept that the approach in deciding the tests of elimination that Trotman had opted for, was conditioned by his conclusion that it was a case of suicide, I am not prepared to state that he had necessarily committed an error by not doing the things which Li in his Report said ought to have been done. That there were no suspicious circumstances were confirmed by the two most senior CID officers in Kowloon District Command. Once an investigation was unlikely to lead to institution of criminal proceedings, the lengths with which an officer should go to confirm the strong circumstantial evidence of an uncontentious death, had up to that point in time been considered by the Force a matter for the discretion of the Investigating Officer.36 I accept that gunpowder tests were not routine practice in Hong Kong at the time. With the benefit of hindsight, I would however say that it would have been better if the hands were tested for gunpowder residue. It is also to be regretted that there were no photographs taken of the windows on the morning when Trotman and other officers examined them and that the note was not examined for fingerprints. However, in the absence of any Force instructions directing that investigating officers of sudden deaths not involving or unlikely to involve criminal acts should complete all conceivable tests of elimination, it would be wrong in my view to lay any fault at the door of Trotman or indeed anybody else. Indeed, it is my view that Trotman had retained, very properly and commendably, his sense of professionalism, in the difficult circumstances that he had to face that morning, when he found his subordinate lying dead on the floor. In my judgment his professional competence is not in question.
(d) Kong's actions at the scene
161. Chief Inspector Kong attended the scene at the instructions of Trotman to act as Investigating Officer. He acted in this capacity for a short time only, according to him, 15 minutes but according to Trotman, 40 minutes. Then Pelly was appointed the Investigating Officer and Kong was told by Trotman to hand over his duties. Kong remained at hand
to assist.
162.
Kong was the Sub-Divisional Inspector whose normal responsibility was to investigate a sudden death which was not within the province of the CID, in other words, sudden death, the investigation of which would not, or was unlikely to, give rise to criminal proceedings. On his arrival, Kong was briefed by Trotman. He undertook an independent examination of the flat and the windows, doors, bedroom, the body, the revolver as well as the suicide note. He confirmed in his own mind that there were no suspicious circumstances, and that it was a case of suicide. With that in mind, he called for a fingerprint expert, a photographer, and ballistics officers. He considered whether or not chemists should be asked to attend the scene and discarded the idea. He thought, not unnaturally, that it was clearly a case of suicide. When Kong reached this conclusion, the pathologists were examining the body, so he did not have to consider whether their presence was required.
163. As to whether or not Kong should have conducted the tests of elimination stated by Li in his Report, the same comments as I have made of Trotman's actions apply.
164.
Kong's actions do not warrant criticisms.
(e) The actions of Pelly at the scene
165. When Supt. Pelly was appointed the Investigating Officer, he had already been in the flat for about half an hour although for most of that time, he was summoned next door to answer calls arising from his other work that morning. He therefore already had some idea of what had happened in the flat when he was briefed by Kong. Pelly then conducted his own independent check of the premises as well as the suicide note and the body and he came to his own conclusion that it was a case of suicide. In evidence, he said that it took him an hour (from the time he entered the flat) to come to this conclusion. Again, the same comments for Kong and Trotman apply to Pelly regarding the tests of elimination that Mr. Li said should have been conducted in the circumstances.
36 See Police General Order 38-02 as at 1 January 1980.