XN000022-1995-04-26 — Page 33

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Interviewing Witness Scheme

Following is a question by Dr the Hon Conrad Lam Kui-shing and a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Peter Lai, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

In regard to the Independent Police Complaints Council's practice of interviewing witnesses, will the Government inform this Council of the procedures involved and the purposes of such a practice, and whether it has achieved its intended results?

Reply:

Mr President,

As part of a package of measures to improve the present system for handling complaints against the Police, the Administration introduced the Interviewing Witnesses Scheme for Members of the Independent Police Complaints Council in July 1994. The first interview was conducted in October 1994. So far, 13 witnesses involved in six cases have been invited for interview and 10 of them have agreed to be interviewed.

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The main purpose of the Scheme is to improve the ability of the Independent Police Complaints Council to monitor investigations conducted by the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO). The intention of the Scheme is to enable Members to clarify matters with witnesses, but not to take over CAPO's investigatory role.

The Independent Police Complaints Council has full discretion to decide who should be invited for interview including complainants. Interviews are conducted by a panel, consisting of two Council Members supported by staff of the Council's Secretariat. Only one witness is interviewed at a time and interviews are conducted in private. Since the interviews are solely to clarify areas of doubt, witnesses are not required to sign or to acknowledge any documents. The panel then prepares a record of the interview for consideration by the full Council. Where necessary, the Council will follow up with CAPO on the information obtained through the interviews.