CO129-264 - Governor Sir Robinson & Public Offices - 1894 [9-12] — Page 476

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In cases of gang robberies, by which I mean cases in which the prisoners are of a mixed nationality, if they can possibly get around it, they do not come forward to give evidence.

And herein lies the danger of the witnesses being intimidated. A long time elapses before the trial, which tends to make the administration of Justice very difficult. This is one of the many difficulties against which the Police here have to contend. Anything therefore, that would increase the reluctance of witnesses to come forward and give evidence in cases in which they are directly interested, is to be deprecated.

A reason against curtailing the jurisdiction of Magistrates, which has been touched upon by the Attorney General, is that it would increase the difficulty of getting witnesses to attend. People in China are reluctant to come forward and help the Police by giving evidence, and anything that would make it more difficult or more troublesome for them to do so, would not assist the Police in bringing criminals to justice.

Another reason for not curtailing the jurisdiction of the Magistrates is that a great deal is often made out of slight variations between statements made by witnesses at the Magistracy and the statements of the same witnesses at the Supreme Court, which in many cases really depend on the difference in the interpretation. There is often very little difference between the statements, which are almost identical, and there are not really any conflicting statements of the witnesses.