172
69.
press:--
There were however two matters which the Attorney General felt must be cleared before he fathe
(i) the Fulton allegations;
(i) the examination of the police procedures including charging and investigations.
70.
By then, it was obvious that Fulton had reported his allegations to many people and these people had repeated the allegations with different emphases and different contents. The matter could not be investigated in the limited context of the Coroner's Inquest. Yet the public already knew something of the allegations and was speculating the worst. Further, the Attorney General said he was "slightly concerned lest any pressure might have been brought to bear, in one way or another, so that the truth hadn't properly emerged."33
71.
The Attorney General had a high opinion of the expertise and independence of the Complaints Against the Police Office (CAPO). He had particular confidence in its then Chief Staff Officer, Mr. John Over. He suggested that Mr. Over should personally take charge of the investigation. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. P. T. Moor, however had a different approach. He suggested that Fulton should be seen by a Senior Officer of CAPO for a detailed statement as to what exactly he said or did not say, then he should be asked whether he wished to make a formal complaint. If he did, then it would be investigated by CAPO. If he did not, the matter would end there.
72. To resolve this difference, the Attorney General and the Deputy Commissioner of Police saw the Governor who, after discussion, was persuaded to the Attorney General's viewpoint. The Attorney General minuted Moor with the result of the Government House meeting on 20 May 1980 and Fulton's complaint was then referred to CAPO.
73.
On 22 May 1980, Mr. Moor issued a short Press Release stating that an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Li Kwan-ha, had submitted a report on his examination into the police procedures. Mr. Li had made certain recommendations which would be implemented. New instructions had been issued to divisional commanders which would ensure that arrangements made would not jeopardize arrests. The Press Release further stated that Mr. Li concluded that the original decision by the investigating officers to treat MacLennan's death as a clear case of suicide was correct (see Chapter 6).
74. With those two outstanding matters thus settled, the Attorney General was ready for his press
(e) The Attorney General's Press Conference
75.
conference.
On 23 May 1980, the Attorney General saw members of the Press. He handed out a Press Release containing this opening:-
"There was overwhelming evidence at the inquest into the death of Inspector MacLennan which shows that he committed suicide. Accordingly, there is no reason to re-open the inquest, and I would have no power to do so under the Coroner's Ordinance."
Below that were listed many salient points of the evidence given at the Coroner's Inquest leading him to that view.34
76.
After a few words of introduction, the Attorney General explained his reason for the press conference:-
<<
it seemed a sensible thing publicly to say what I've decided to do. And also to give you the reasons why, in view of the public interest, in the matter.
I decided not to re-open the Inquest and my reasons for so deciding are that I'm totally satisfied that Inspector MacLennan committed suicide and I would explain in a little more detail than in the Press Release why I have come to that conclusion in a moment or two. That being the conclusion I have come to, there is no power then in me to re-open the Inquest because the object of ordering an inquest to be re-opened is if there are grounds for considering that further evidence could come forward or whatever."
The Attorney General then went on to explain the various points in his Press Release and at times illustrated his explanations with photographs of the scene.
77. The Press Release itself made no mention of the status of the jury's verdict. There is no doubt that as a result of such an opening, those present had the impression (rightly or wrongly) that the Attorney General was challenging the jury's Open Verdict. The series of questions immediately after the Attorney General concluded his analysis of the evidence were, not surprisingly, these:-
"Question: You said there's overwhelming evidence from the inquest to show that Inspector MacLennan committed
suicide; that's not what the jury say. I wondered whether you'd care to comment on that if you had conclusion from there?
got the
33 See Transcript page 11606B.
34
A copy of the press release is reproduced at Appendix 46.
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