TNAG-0382-FCO40-428-Sterling-assets-and-balance-of-payments-of-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 118

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hanged as a deterrent to other potential murderers.

Mr Royle

said that that was not the way that he understood the situation.

We had been told that Tsoi should not be reprieved because his

crime was worse than those of murderers who had been reprieved.

But to have allowed the law to take its course in Hong Kong would

have led to a major row in Parliament. There would have been a

vote of censure on the Secretary of State which might have been

carried. Mr Woo said that some Labour MPs had also made this

point to him. Mr Royle concluded by saying that the most recent

figures on violent crime that he had seen appeared to indicate

that its rise was now levelling out.

Distribution:

PS

PS/Mr Royle

HKIOD (3)

Sir D Watson

Mr Wilford

Mr Youde

Sir M MacLehose

Hong Kong (Personal)

Mr Holland

Mr Cambridge, FRD

Mr Rushford

1