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applied to me for a detention warrant to enable him to
arrest and hold Lau Lun, an alleged robber-chief from the
Tung Kun district of the Kuang-tung province, pending inquiry with a view to his banishment. On the same day
I signed a warrant for this man's arrest and detention
pursuant to section 4 of the Deportation Ordinance No.25
of 1917 on the ground that the numerous murders and robber-
ies charged against him rendered him a danger to the peace
and good order of this Colony. You will note that the
provisions of the Ordinance relating to detention of this
nature are very jealous of the rights of the person so
detained. The original warrant is only valid for 6 days
and extensions must be by fresh warrants each limited to
4 days (sub-section (9) of section 4).
3.
It has by no means been proved that Lau Lun
is a "notorious criminal", a "well-known pirate", or that he
has been guilty of dozens of murders or of any murder at
all.
On the contrary representations have been received
from persons claiming to be gentry of Tung Kun, from the
Branch Bureau of the People's Defence Corps at Nam Sha Lin
Kai Po, Tung Kun, and others to the effect that Lau Lun
was a staunch supporter of law and order in lawless times
and places and had incurred considerable enmity from those
inconvenienced by such support. It is also known that Lau
Lun ran the anti-British boycott-blockade instituted in
1925 and carried goods in defiance of the strike pickets
between this Colony and Tung Kun. It was certainly common.
knowledge that blockade-running was in the hands of very desperate gangs, but a blockade-runner defying the anti-
British boycott can hardly be said to be or have been a
danger to the peace and good order of this Colony.
4.
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