if the relevant Police General Orders are complied with, that will be the case. There is nothing that can usefully be done by way of instruction or guidance. In practice, of course, the Orders are not always complied with as the "report" But they do not anyway prevent a prisoner being taken physically into the custody of CID officers if he has been duly put in the custody of the duty officer. That practice could be prohibited, but, though this may warrant further examination, my present feeling is in Hong Kong's circumstances that to do so might impede proper investigation of crime in a proper way in many cases.
(b) "Frame-ups" in general.
-
There is no doubt, as I said in 1976, that false cases are put forward by the Police by no means a uniquely Hong Kong problem. I also said then that it was nevertheless my belief that in general the administration of criminal justice is satis- factory.
My present assessment is that there are/ have been more false cases than I then thought. This re-assessment stems from cases which have come before us in the past year particularly and also from disclosures (albeit untested in court) arising out of the Yau Ma Tei Drug Case. I would therefore now say that the problem is somewhat worse than I previously thought but that nevertheless I maintain my view that in general the administration of criminal justice is satisfactory. There is however cause for concern, but we must take into account the steps already taken or to be taken (i) CAPO and its further strengthening, both in
role and resources;
(ii) the duty-lawyer scheme;
(iii)
G
-
the lay prosecutor scheme though a recent experience has confirmed my very clear view that quality of prosecutor is not the complete answer because a prosecutor cannot divine what may lie behind the case put to him, which after
爨
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.