TNAG-0260-FCO40-296-Legislation-for-prevention-of-bribery-in-Hong-Kong-1970 — Page 174

Registry No.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret.

Secret.

DRAFT

BACKGROUND

Type 1 +

To:-

From

Telephone No. & Ext.

Confidential.

Restricted. Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

In Confidence

Stif

Problem

Backgr

Department

Corruption exists in Hong Kong in all walks of

life.

Public attention has particularly concentrated on the Public Service though in the majority of cases where corruption does occur the fault is by no

means on one side only.

4. Present legislation (based to a large extent on U.K. statutes) and the separate disciplinary

regulations to which civil servants are subject

are felt to be inadequate in restraining corruption. (Details of the reported incidents of corruption during 1968-69 are at Annex A). A Working Party found the existing legislation to be inadequate

especially in relation to:

(a) powers of investigation into alleged

offences under the existing legislation;

(b) the difficulty of discharging the

initial burden of proof which lies on

the prosecution.

(c) provisions relating to the reception

by the Courts of the evidence of accomplices.

The Working Party recommended the introduction of new legislation (not the amendment of existing legislation). A Bill for this purpose,

draw

drawn on

the results of on-the-spot investigations by Hong Kong legal and police officers in Singapore

and Ceylon into the anti-corruption legislation

1

470

(134392) Dd. 737115 750M 4/70 Hw.

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