TNAG-0198-FCO40-234-Prevention-of-bribery-bill-1969 — Page 67

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

egistry

No. HKK 14/38

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret.

Sedret.

Conflential.

Restricted. Unclassified,

PRIVACY MARKING

In Confidence

offen as indring

Corruption by public servants, riticism of

(118281) Dd. 391599 1,500M 2/69 Hw.

2

I seem to

recollect

thearing the night

an accused to make

jan unsya

tatement. But J have hum unable the trace where the Criticism came from

DRAFT letter

6

Type 1 +

To:- J. M. Cartwright Sharp Si af fratton, 1 seller

Secretary

The Law Communio

Lason House

Theobalds Road.

w.c...

Telephone No. & Ext.

Department

The Hong Kong Government have published, for

general comment, a Bill which they propose to

introduce into their Legislature in the near future

and which is designed to tighten up their laws

dealing with corruption. The Bill has a particular

bearing on public servants and on those who may have

dealings with public servants.

One of the provisions in the Bill will, if

enacted as it stands, bar a person accused of

certain offences involving corruption from electing

to make an unsworn statement from the dock. The

effect of

this provision would

be to

compel the accused either to remain silent or to

submit to cross-examination.

exprised

A preliminary view here was that such a

might be

provision i opjeçtionable and tred

a

anyhow, if such consin were to be introduced, I should the of ginnal application and not limited to pusons accused of curtains

gifficult to jus

basic

taking away rom in progrogā.

However, in the course of

//NP.

recent discussions with the Attorney-General,

Hong Kong, it has been suggested that the practice

in the United Kingdom of allowing accused persons to

be under review,

elect to make unayo

VMP

If you could lit

statemen

to us brew when the hour commission of We shoul berateul to teipp hotner in fact any Considing thequesting reviewing

whether

bonow of the

this practice, then for boo

considered in th

has been Op

of the practition

being

Sound & any

I any critiscion

have considered going to

a au

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