A.
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
3
SUMMARY
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On the 15 January 1980 Inspector John MacLennan was found dead in his Ho Man Tin Police quarters with five gun
shot wounds. He was to have been arrested by the Special Investigations Unit (the SIU) on eight charges of gross indecency. Due to the disquiet and confusion in the minds of the public, this Commission of Inquiry was appointed on the 8 July 1980 with wide Terms of Reference. The gist of the Terms of Reference is:-
2.
(a) whether MacLennan's death was other than suicide;
(b) what were the official investigations immediately after his death; if there were any shortcomings in those
investigations, and if so, the reasons therefor;
(c)
whether the charges about to be brought against him were proper, and whether on evidence properly obtained;
(d) what investigations or enquiries other than those resulting in (c) were conducted; whether those investigations
or enquiries were proper and whether they had any bearing on his death; and
(e) whether the investigations and enquiries under (b), (c) and (d) were properly motivated.
The last Term of Reference has caused some initial difficulty, for it is far more difficult to determine why people do certain things than to ascertain if they have done certain things. Much time and effort was therefore devoted to seeking answers to the question of motivation.
3.
The Commission of Inquiry formally opened its public hearing on 24 July 1980. The first witness was called on 6 August 1980. Owing to illness, Mr. Neligan, the Counsel for the Commission, left for London in late August.
4.
In early September 1980, Mr. Beveridge, Q.C., arrived in Hong Kong to replace Mr. Neligan. On the advice of my legal advisers, it became apparent that a careful preparation of the ground work should consist of a further and less pressing analysis of all the material so far available, and further investigation by independent investigators should be conducted. Public hearings were therefore adjourned for a reputable firm of private investigators, Carratu Ltd. of England, to conduct investigations on behalf, and under the direction and supervision, of the Commission. On completion of the investigations Carratu Ltd. submitted a report to the Commission's legal advisers. It was decided that I should not read the report so that my mind would be free from any influence by the investigators' conclusions. Public hearings resumed on the 29 October 1980. It was however necessary from time to time to conduct further enquiries even after the 29 October.
5.
In 134 days of public hearings, the Commission heard 110 witnesses and had 57 statements read out. The transcript of evidence comes to some 13 000 pages. All evidence was heard in open sessions. There were also chamber hearings relating to procedural matters. Seventeen different parties were legally represented. Final submissions from 12 Counsel were heard. I have given careful and equal consideration to all the submissions and then used my own independent judgment in preparing the Report.
6.
In dealing with the evidence I have followed the same approach as in the Leung Wing-sang Inquiry of 1976 by "using the criterion of a reasonably intelligent person with common sense and knowledge of local conditions" as a rough tool and a minimum standard of proof.
B. JOHN MACLENNAN THE MAN
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7.
He was born on 3 October 1950 in Scotland. He joined The Hong Kong Police Force in 1973. In 1977, he worked in the Vetting Section of the Special Branch and whilst there he had access to a file containing either names only or material of varying degrees of reliability of certain persons, suspected or rumoured to have been involved in some homosexual activities.
8.
On 12 April 1977, he resigned from the Force, wishing "to make his future in the United Kingdom.” On 25 March 1978, he rejoined The Hong Kong Police Force on a two and a half er contract.
9.
He was a devoted son and a religious person. He was also proud of his Scottish heritage. His friends described him as a "man's man", a "disciplinarian”, and “extremely honest". He was also thought to be “loud" and pompous at times, and "Kiplingesque" when in the mood. He also spoke with great pride about his being a member of The Royal Hong Kong Police Force.