TNAG-0683-FCO40-832-Political-aspects-of-administration-of-justice-in-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 6

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operating from the stric office, runted for that purpose, and vore collecting the brib. i ny as "protection" money on a systematic and wide-spread b.sis over the period of the conspiracy charged. The evilence of various witnesses of this type covered the whole period of the conspiracy indicating that the money collected from the various vice establishments amounted to between $320,000 and $340,000 per month which ney passed to the hands of successive pazzona whom I shall call "men:gers", for want of a better phrase, et a flat in Hung Fool Building in Kan Ping Stret and which was subsequently paid into two bank accounts. Followers of the three successive station surgents introduced their own respective successors to the establishments from which money was collected, one of those persons being CHEN Chouk-fun who become something in the nature of the accountant and cashier of the operations of the conspiracy and who frequently purchased sterling bank drafts to send to England on behalf of the first appellant. It was Cheng's evidence that between the beginning of June 1972 and the end of February 1973 he opened and closed a total of seven savings bank accounts all with the same branch of the Hang Seng Bank Limited into which squeeze money from vice establishments the paid in, and from which accounts money was hither withdrawn or transferred, some of th t money being for the purchase of sterling bank drafts for the two diffendants. The seven accounts

affellent

were maintained in false namus and at the end of pproximately onc month from opening an account, that account was closed by ithdre] of the final credit balance and th account books destroyed. Copies of the bank account entries were, however, produced in evidence and shoved substantial deposits and withdrawals. Despite the fact that CHEN- Cheuk-fun was an accomplice - a fect which the learned judge vell took into account the judge accepted him as telling the truth and said that he had boon voly candid in his disclosures,

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Th collectors so far from being unaware that no action was buing taken in regard to the illegal activities in respect of which they were continuing to collect money well know, 'n the evidence, of actual varnin 3 wing conveyed to establishm nts which it was deemed politic to raid for the sake of appearances.

All this evidence indicates, as the learned judge commented, a link-up between the owners and operators of the various vice establishments, the collectors, the three station sergents and the two appellants.