Mr. Kwan's home was on the opposite side of Argyle Street near the pedestrian crossing where he was killed. It is the police opinion that he was trying to take a short cut home through a gap in the fence at the pedestrian crossing, the alternative being to go several hundred yards further to the next traffic inter- section. The evidence thus available did not disclose the commission of any traffic offence by the driver of the vehicle, and no prosecution was therefore instituted. The papers were, however, in accordance with practice, sent to the Coroner, who decided that no death enquiry was necessary. The papers were then sent to the Hong Kong Legal Department, which saw no reason to disagree with the Coroner's decision.
The ICAC has now examined very closely the allegations that the police were bribed not to prosecute the motorist. However, nothing has emerged from its exhaustive enquiries to cast doubt on the findings of the police that Mr. Kwan's death was an accident resulting from his own misjudgement. Further, no evidence at all has come to light to suggest that a bribe was either solicited or offered to hush the matter up. As a result of certain administrati errors, which I shall discuss shortly, it seems probable that Mr. Kwan Chung Lam, the dead man's son, became convinced that an attempt was being made to conceal the true cause of the accident. He tried to pursue his own investigations by making telephone calls, posing as the police or the driver, in an attempt to trap either party into soliciting or offering a bribe. He was unsuccessful. He has recently had an interview with one of the officers of the ICAC, and it is possible that he now accepts that his allegations, understandable in the circumstances, were unwarranted. The Operatio Target Committee, which directs action to be taken by the Commission' officers, recently considered all the information relevant to the case and concluded that there were no grounds for pursuing the enquiries.
On the other hand, with regard to the alleged failure to inform Mr. Kwan's family of his critical condition, there were justifiable grounds for complaint. Briefly, the facts are that
/Mr. Kwan
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