TNAG-0683-FCO40-832-Political-aspects-of-administration-of-justice-in-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 7

It would be naive to imagine that the collectors thought thet the power to refrain from police action, over a period of years

And in respect of munerous offenders, resided solely in the station

sergeant for the tine being. In other words they must have been well

aver: that not all of the very considerable sums they were collecting

stuck to the hands of the orgsent and that the failure to initiate

rosecutions had the consent of the sergeant's superiors. Thus the collectors, the sergeants and the two appellants were all members of the same conspiracy cach with conscious understanding of a common design that the police officers concerned should act contrary to their public duty in regard to the administration of the law.

Morcover there is no mozit in the contention that the 1erned trial judge found proved a conspiracy different from that which was changed. The basis of this ssertion as the judge's finding that son of the conspirators were the oners or operators of vice establishments. In the first piros the ch rge, even as amended, contained a reference to other persons unimom" so that the inclusion by the judge of owners or operators of vice st=Flichm.nts 'cannot be said not to have ben cont molated by the chi rgo. Indood those were the very persons whom it as correct to describe an unknown. Secondly, it cannot be argued that 12 4 and Dwu ch d and proved to have conspired, they are not guilty because the vid. nou rovuals that they also conspired with C. The basis of the conspiracy ello ed was that the two appellants yould receive money from three station cergeants in return for affording protection to "oteliholders". That was a single conspiracy and it was arply roved. In this conn tin the learned judgo said:

It has been submitted on behalf of the two Defenfans that even if all the ovidence adduced by the Crown were accepted as being truc, neverthel ́ss the two Defendants ought to be acquist. because the Crown has proved, from the wid once adduced, not only one Sunspiracy s ch ́rged in this indictment but three or more conspiracies because it is submitted ch of the three Station Sergeants carried on their own separate enterprises, and that tech of then, then ver they took up the port of Dubective Station Sergeant in Bay View Division, each conspired separately with the two Delon ente. I would cgree with this submission if the Dotictive Station Serg ants nam、d did not