TNAG-0554-FCO40-649-Review-of-death-sentence-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 19

Mr O'Keeffe

CONFIDENTIAL

Reference....

23 23

+ 16

HONG KONG: DEATH SENTENCES

1.

Please see the responses (below) to my minute

of 2 June about Hong Kong telegrams nos. 530 and 543.

2. I think it would be useful for Hong Kong to have a fuller explanation of the Abdul Malik affair As proposed by Mr Rushford, but I think they need only go into such detail if subjected to searching questions. I would therefore prefer to recommend to Hong Kong a somewhat shorter version for defensive use with the Press, based on the first two paragraphs of Mr Rushford's explanation together with the second paragraph proposed by Hong Kong. The remainder of Mr Rushford's proposed explanation could be sent as background to the Trinidad affair.

3. I submit two draft telegrams.

DIE

D K Timms

3 June 1975

Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department

9 discerned with Ur Preston and agreed that 'Minister'

is mone

the last line of page pagpropriate than's Unity" in the last live

топецунарнов

add

of the first draft Algan. We also agreed to hold "strielly"

to strengthen the argument.

Vfts to sine.

4/1

CONFIDENTIAL