7.
from the United Kingdom until July or August 1945. Utterly
impossible for them to know anything whatever about this man as
policeman much less his fitness for promotion.
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Earlier I made mention of the conduct of the Police Force
while interned. There were those who fell by the wayside and were
punished by local tribunals set up to maintain law and order in
the camp.
Their offences were trifling and in the main were dealt
with merely as a "shop" rather than a deterent so that the Japanes e
in charge of the camp would not arrest, try, and inflict their own
types of punishment.
The exception to the rule was the conduct of F.J.CLARKE,
who was tried and convicted for "misappropriation of Communal
Rations", 1.e., "pinching his comrades' food". This offence he
committed whilst in a position of trust. This case became the
"
"cause celebre of the whole camp life. He appealed against the
conviction and penalty imposed by the Local Tribunel which was
presided over by Mr. H.G. SHELDON K.0., The appeal went before
the Camp Tribunal who upheld the decision of the Local Tribunal.
He again appealed against their decision and a Special Tribunal was
set up to hear the appeal. They, in turn, upheld the previous
decisions.
The
On 19/4/47 my Committee and I appeared before the
Commissioner of Police on a routine welfare matter and during this
appearance I brought up the matter of these promotions.
Commissioner's reply was that in the case of CLARKE he had been
recommended by the Board all of whom had been in the Internment
Camp with CLARKE and had taken everything into consideration.
In the case of Mc.Cahey, no reply was made, but the
Commissioner stated that any such promotions were sure to ba
unpopular how truthful he was and how unlawful the promotions
The Promotion Board consists of the five most senior
gazetted Officers in the Force. Included in this Board are Messrs.
La B. SPARROS and 0.3 WILSON, these tro while on recuperation
leave in the United Kingdom approached the Colonial Office with a
list of names of Pre-War Officers, intending that the greater number
of these Officers should not be allowed to return to Hong Kong
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