-OR 1250
IMMEDIATE
CYPHER CAT A
FM HONG KONG Ø71840Z
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL.
HKK. 382/16
3 NOV 1977
No of de
TO IMMEDIATE F C O TELNO 1100 OF 7 NOVEMBER 1977
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON
Kut
MY TELNO 1099-
18
THE FOLLOWING IS THE TEXT OF MY SPEECH TO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
QUOTE
ON SATURDAY EVENING | ANNOUNCED A NEW POLICY WITH REGARD TO ICAC OPERATIONS IN THE FOLLOWING TERMS: ALL CONCERNED MAY TAKE IT THAT AS FROM NOW THE ICAC WILL NOT NORMALLY ACT ON COMPLAINTS OR EVIDENCE RELATING TO OFFENCES COMMITTED BEFORE 1 JANUARY 1977 EXCEPT IN RELATION TO PERSONS WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN INTERVIEWED, PERSONS AGAINST WHOM WARRANTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED, AND PERSONS NOW OUTSIDE HONG KONG. I EXCEPT PERSONS WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN INTERVIEWED BECAUSE I DO NOT THINK THAT ANYONE WOULD ACCEPT THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS, WHETHER BY THE POLICE OR BY THE ICAC, SHOULD BE HALTED BY EXTRA-LEGAL ACTION, I SAY "'WILL NOT NORMALLY ACT' BECAUSE OCCASIONALLY AN OFFENCE MAY COME TO LIGHT WHICH IS SO HEINOUS THAT IT WOULD BE UNTHINKABLE NOT TO ACT AND THE PUBLIC WOULD NOT TOLERATE FAILURE TO ACT, BUT IN ANY SUCH CASE I WILL BE CONSULTED FIRST'↑
A
2. THIS OF COURSE APPLIED TO THE MEMBERS OF ALL PUBLIC SERVICES, AND THE PUBLIC, NOT JUST TO THE POLICE FORCE.
3. OUR OBJECT HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO CLEANSE THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND TO CONTINUE PROSECUTIONS FOR PAST OFFENCES UNTIL ACCEPTABLE STANDARDS HAD BEEN ACHIEVED. WE HAD NEVER ENVISAGED PROSECUTING EVERYBODY WHO HAD EVER COMMITTED AN OFFENCE. IN VIEW OF THE GREAT IMPROVEMENT IN THE STANDARDS OF HONESTY ACHIEVED, PARTICULARLY OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, I HAD EXPECTED BEFORE LONG TO TAKE A STEP OF THE SORT ANNOUNCED LAST SATURDAY. THIS WOULD MAKE IT POSSIBLE
CONFIDENTIAL
/TO
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