TNAG-0408-FCO40-454-Allegations-of-bribery-and-corruption-in-the-Hong-Kong-polic-1973 — Page 11

Mr Yoyde

Sir D Watson

CONFIDENTIAL

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CORRUPTION IN HONG KONG

1. I submit a draft letter which, if you agree, I will send

to Mr Roberts commenting on Hong Kong telegram No 1090, which

is itself a reply to our telegram No 938. I attach copies of

the second Blair-Kerr report and Annex to which this all refers.

2. The proposals, and the comments to which the department's

legal adviser has agreed, are complicated. But the main points

are the proposal to amend the Fugitive Offenders Act; to change

Colonial Regulations for Hong Kong to make it easier to retire

officers suspected of corruption; and to change the Hong Kong

Frevention of Bribery Ordinance so that an accused person could

be convicted for failing to provide adequate explanations of

property held not only by himself but also by his near relatives.

3. Mr Royle has decided that we can take no steps to change

the Fugitive Offenders Act. The draft reflects this. Our

comments on the Colonial Regulations arise from a meeting which

I held with the Governor, Mr Rushford and Mr Champion when

Sir Murray MacLehose was here. Our final comments were agreed

with Mr Champion before he went on leave. They do involve some

changes to the existing Regulations which marginally affect the

protection which officers have against arbitrary retirement.

But we urged on the Governor, and he agreed, that, both for the

protection of the individual and to avoid subsequent trouble if

a disgruntled officer complained to MPs and others, there is

/advantage

CONFIDENTIAL