TNAG-0260-FCO40-296-Legislation-for-prevention-of-bribery-in-Hong-Kong-1970 — Page 40

4000091 P.R.H. 7

*) IN

R.GITAT No. 51

15770

14418

HKKIH

HONG KONG GOVERNMENT

INFORMATION SERVICES

DAILY INFORMATION

BULLETIN

(2),

Ref x10 para 5(B) & 42, plave kap a wosk

Hansard &

Dut

passing 1x 1

(55)

to the

Roy. Re

this Bill. See also Monday, October 26, 1970

ANC 16.11.20

PREVENTION OF BRIBERY BILL 1970

No Defence That Receiving Advantage Is Local Custom

********

The Prevention of Bribery Bill 1970 provides that it will not be

a defence to show the giving or receiving of an advantage "is customary

in Hong Kong in the particular trade or business concerned."

Mr. D.T.E. Roberts, Attorney General, told the Legislative Council

last Wednesday when he moved the Bill's second reading that clause 21

enabled evidence of "unexplained pecuniary resources" to be given on a

charge for any offence under the Bill.

Clause 22 modified the common law rule by which a court was required

to have specific regard to the danger of convicting a person on the evidence

of an accomplice alone, without corroboration.

This rule had developed, in practice, to a point at which courts

had become "very reluctant to convict on the uncorroborated evidence of an

accomplice."

So clause 22 sought to modify that practice to the extent that,

for the purposes of the rule, one party to a corrupt transaction should not

be regarded as an accomplice of the other party in a prosecution against

the latter for an offence under the Bill.

/"This