CR L/M 30/74
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY No. 51
10 JUN 1974
АКК ails
AKK
Enter and
he بتا
please
Colonial Secretariat,
Lower Albert Road,
Hong Kong.
C.S. 143
Dear Lick
4 June, 1974
LABI
5
REF.
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REF
Death of Mr. KWAN Kung
I am sorry it has taken us rather a long time to reply to you about the allegations made following the death of Mr. Kwan Kung on 29 July 1973 in a road accident, which were taken up by Mr. Ray Carter MP. Your reference is HKK 21/5. It was important to have the matter thoroughly investigated and we have now had full reports.
First, as to the allegation that the police were bribed not to prosecute the motorist involved: the Independent Commission Against Corruption has examined the matter very closely. 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 misjudgment. 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 administrative errors, which I describe in the following paragraph, 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 Operations Target Committee, which directs action to be taken by the Commission's officers, recently considered all the information relevant to the case and concluded that there were no grounds for pursuing the enquiries.
R.B. Crowson, Esq.,
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
London S.W.1.
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