TNAG-1101-FCO40-1351-Legislation-on-homosexuality-in-Hong-Kong-including--Report--1981 — Page 391

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MRS. ELLIOTT'S PRESS STATEMENT

Revised Statement ( 3rd )

Since the Attorney-General, in his press conference on the HacLennan Inquest, appeared to assume the role of both judge and jury, and failed to divulge the evidence of about 40 witnesses, this witness at any rate considers it to be in the interests of justice to make known relevant matters pertaining to the case. These facts would indicate that, whether the hand that pumped the

shots into John MacLennan's heart was his own or someone else's, he is not

alive today because of a concerted effort to get him out of the Police Force.

I have already elsewhere told the story of the 1978 incident, and how John was reinstated. The inquest added further facts which showed clearly that he had been sacked, at that time contrary to the recommendation of Xc. C.W.B. Purdon, Deputy Commissioner of Police, whose recommendation was

<pparently overruled by the Acting Commissioner.

After his reinstatement in 1978, I had no further contact with the

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late Inspector. fhad agreemånt

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In October 1979, three months before MacLennan's death, Mr. Howard Lindsay, then a Crown Counsel in the Attorney-General's office, at great risk to himself, phoned to inform me that certain individual members of the S.I.U. had intimidated another Senior Police Inspector to try to "set up John MacLennan on homosexual charges. Despite this intimidation, the Inspector had refused to take part in any set up. I suggested that this Inspector should report the entire matter to his superiors, or at least make a sworn statement about it, for his own protection. I should like to state here that I have refrained from naming the Senior Inspector publicly, out of respect for him, and to save him possible 'harrassment. Bus H 20

of

Lis

On 20th December, 1979, I met the Attorney-General, at his request and concerning other matters. In the course of the conversation I suggested that the homosexual laws in Hong Kong needed changing, because they were being misued, and harboured activities including blackmail, intimidation, theft, and possibly triad associations. I told the Attorney-General that I knew of a set-up being planned by individuals of the S.I.V., and that an Inspector had been asked to take part in the setting up of a colleague, that colleague being John MacLennan. I am not aware if the Attorney-General took any action to investigate my allegation. I also wrote to Sir Y.K. Kan, pointing out how these laws have been abused, resulting in blackmail and intimidation. It would appear that these laws were applied to selected individuals.

The matter was so serious that I repeated the facts of the set up to Members of Parliament and others in late October and early November, while

I was in Britain. At a meeting on 11th January, 1920, at the School of Law at Hong Kong University, I again mentioned the misuse of the law, and the attempted setting up of John MacLennan,though I did not name either of the two Inspectors, for obvious reasons. Four days later John RecLennan was dead.