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PART IV THE MEASURES TAKEN TO DEAL WITH THE DISTURBANCES
1.05 a.m. and 5.40 a.m. on the English channel and 34 times between 1.05 a.m. and 5.20 a.m. on the Chinese channel.
259. According to the evidence of police officers, everything possible was done by the police in the streets to communicate information as to the curfew to members of the general public, but this task was necessarily incidental to the main task of quelling the riots. They used their loud hailers for this purpose; the public address systems installed on some of their vehicles would have been more effective, but had in at least one case been damaged by stones (see para. 145) and was not available. In these circumstances, and on the basis of the evidence of news. paper reporters and other eyewitnesses, we incline to the view that many in the streets on the night of April 6/7th may not have been aware of the curfew. This was conceded by the Commissioner of Police and Mr. SUTCLIFFE who suggested that, in any case, many people would not be aware of the meaning of a curfew but that the discretion given to police officers in respect of persons involved through no fault of their own was an adequate safeguard.
April 7/8th
260. The Commissioner of Police explained that his decision not to request a prearranged curfew on the night of April 7/8th was based on the absence of any indication from 'intelligence sources' of any organization behind the dis turbances and of any information regarding the likelihood of further demonstra tions. Moreover it was made in the light of the rapid return to normal life in Kowloon, which occurred during the day, and his desire to emphasize this return to normality and to avoid unnecessary inconvenience to the public.
261. In the event, all preparations were made, but no curfew was actually requested until rioting had broken out again. By this time, people were in cinemas, the normal night life of the town was in full swing and it was very difficult to impose a sudden curfew. Consequently, it was announced that a curfew would again run from 1.30 a.m. to 6 a.m. and this was broadcast twice on the joint radio service. The Governor, however, decided that an earlier curfew was necessary and at ten minutes past midnight signed Curfew Order No. 2, im- posing a curfew over the same area as on the previous night from 12.30 a.m. until 6 a.m. This was broadcast four times between 12.15 a.m. and 12.30 a.m. and repeated 29 times in English and 23 times in Chinese during the curfew period.
262. Information supplied to us by the Government Information Services in- dicated that rumours were current during the day that a further curfew would be imposed that night. Some pains were taken to deny these rumours, as evidenced by messages passed out on the teleprinter to radio stations and newspapers between 6.15 p.m. and 10.30 p.m. The emphasis on the decision that 'a curfew will only be imposed if it is necessary i.e. if disturbances break out', no doubt helped to reas sure those whose plans and avocations might otherwise have been interrupted in
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