TNAG-0407-FCO40-453-Allegations-of-bribery-and-corruption-in-the-Hong-Kong-polic-1973 — Page 73

M Macoson OPA

Miss Key Th Stuart des

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Mr Prendergast GM CMG

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Date 9 August 1973

This letter is to ask whether you will be prepared to help us in Hong Kong with a problem. The problem is corruption in the police and Government service?

I had always known that there was a good deal of minor corruption at the comparatively low level at which, for the most part, Government touches the public, ie pay-offs from hawkers, minor gamblers, taxi drivers etc, to policemen on the beat, and the same sort of thing in PWD and Transport Department and no doubt Resettlement Department. But I have been severely shaken by the discovery of corruption in comparatively high places. Superintendent Godber hit the head-lines, but I have been really worried to discover that the honest officers at the top believe that there are a considerable number of other European and local officers who are dishonest. I must assume that what goes for the police goes for other Departments of Government too. Clearly one cannot cut graft out at the bottom until the higher- ups who are crooked have been weeded out, and it is high time something was done. As the political scene is fairly calm and likely to remain so for a year or two, now is a good time to have a clean-up.

Later this year I hope to have regulations amended to allow the compulsory retirement of people in public service "in the public interest", ie without formal proof of misconduct being available. We already have an Anti-Corruption Ordinance which permits prosecution of people unable to explain wealth in excess of their pay. These two instruments should be sufficient to allow us either to prosecute or get rid of people once we are certain to our own satisfaction that they are dishonest. There- after the identification of the crooks becomes as much a Special Branch type operation as a CID one.

Clearly the work of identification and or prosecution will have to be undertaken by policemen, and by policemen in a special and self-contained unit. This could call on the resources

PERSONAL

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