TNAG-0487-FCO40-552-Review-of-death-sentence-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 199

ANNEX 10 XCR(74) 6S ́ ̧

For Executive Council

Condemned Prisoner: CHAN Cheong-hing

Report by Home Affairs Department

Enquiries have been made by the staff of the Western City

District Office where the nearest relatives of the prisoner and the

victim live.

2.

However,

There is very little public interest in this case.

the consensus of opinion remains that severe punishment is the only

deterrent to crimes of violence.

3.

In an interview with the staff of the Western City District

Office, Madam Cheung Shiu-chai, the elder sister of the victim, said

that she firmly believed that her sister (the prisoner's wife), was killed

accidentally by the prisoner. She disclosed that he was a man of very hot

temper and that he and her sister had been on bad terms since their marriage.

40

Miss Chan Shuk-chu, the prisoner's eldest daughter, confirmed

Madam Cheung's observation about her father's poor temper and said that because of this he had been off and on with his jobs. He was a seaman by

profession, contributing $100 - $200 a month to the family when he was

under employment and demanding money from the family when he was out of job. She complained that he failed to take good care of the family and

she had been forced to work at the age of 12. However, she said that he

was not a habitual gambler, nor was he an alcoholic. All in all she did

not appear to be concerned about her father's fate.

12th February 1974

(Y.T. Lin)

for Director of Home Affairs