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(who, to the department's knowledge, was in Hong Kong on private * legal business in mid-April and is now in Hong Kong again for the first week in June) that Hong Kong's legal aid system is "pretty. worthless". In his letter of 19 May, Mr Thornton, the Hong Kong Solicitor-General (and, at the time, acting as Attorney-General), rejects this accusation, defends Hong Kong's system in my view justifiably and points to the very limited nature of Mr Crowder's legal experience in Hong Kong. A further letter from the Hong Kong Government explains that no simple pamphlet or booklet for distribution to members of the public has yet been produced covering the procedures and regulations relating to the granting of legal aid in criminal cases, although such a booklet is in the course of preparation. Copies of the relevant Regulations and Rules are available and, though complicated, Mr Stainton might
wish to see these.
5. The Hong Kong Solicitor-General also comments on (b) in his letter of 19 May. The incident, in a drugs case in which
Mr Crowder is involved for the defence, in which what the accused said in one room was taped in the next, was of no significance and did not form the basis of the prosecution's case. The case, in which the Canadian Government are seeking the extradition of Mr Crowder's client to face serious drug charges, depended rather on tapes recorded in Canada by the Canadian law enforcement authorities, but were recorded merely to provide a specimen of the accused's speaking voice..
6. Mr Thornton also rejects Mr Stainton's charge (c) that "the prosecution's papers are produced very tardily" in so far as he may be criticizing prosecuting counsel from the Hong Kong Government's Legal Department.
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or Mr Crowder's
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7. Mr Stainton's
criticisms are in any event premature in regard to the case of Mr Clements who has not yet been committed for trial. (As Mr Stainton has already been informed, committal proceedings have been set for 10 June and the latest
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