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were accomplices and we do not know what they decided. If, as is possible, all three were found to be accomplices the confession would
be the only corroboration of their evidence. It was in such terms
that if the jury thought it was entitled to any weight it must inevitably have influenced them in reaching a verdict. The result is that the appeal of the first Applicant must be allowed. further contended that the wrongful admission of the first Applicant's
confession prejudiced the other Applicants and justifies our
It is
allowing their appeals also. We do not agree. The jury were
properly told that the unsworn statements of each Defendant were
evidence only against the makers and we are not to assume that the jury would disregard that direction, although counsel submits that we should, apparently on the basis that jurors, being untrained, are intellectually incapable of giving effect to such distinctions. If that were true it would be wrong to admit even voluntary
confessions in evidence if they tended to incriminate a co-defendant,
but the law clearly allows that to be done provided a sufficient
warning is given.
The circumstances surrounding the taking of statements
from the second to fourth Applicants were much in dispute. The main
body of the police cvidence was that as a result of information
received a party of detectives was summoned to the Triad Society Bureau
at 0200 on 25th March and later proceeded to the vicinity of a flat
in Lockhart Road at about 0230: the officers remained there until
0310 when six suspects, including these three Applicants, were seen
to descend from the flat and cross the road to a food stall, where
they ordered a meal. The suspects were then arrested and each of
these Applicants made a statement: the suspects were next taken to the Triad Society Bureau for about ten to twelve minutes while some
forms were prepared, after which they were taken to Wanchai Police Station by car: the time of arrival at the police station was given as 0330 or 0335; after a report had been made the suspects were taken back to the Trind Society Bureau and the oral statements were recorded, the first of these being timed at 0348: further questions were put to the second Applicant and as a result he made another long statement. The case for the defence was that the Applicants went to the food stall at 0200, that the police came up and accused them of taking their noodles, that the arrests were at 0230 and not at 0310, that pressure was put upon the Applicants at the Triad Society
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