82
Zim.
interview. Trotman in his evidence admitted that he had informed MacLennan that the SIU was to interv Llewellyn requested that the interview be postponed to the afternoon as he would be in court in the morning. Brooks refused to change the time and Llewellyn indicated that he would arrange for another Solicitor from his firm to attend the interview.
87.
Brooks immediately informed Ross of his telephone conversation with Llewellyn. Both Brooks and Ross were upset that Trotman, in instructing MacLennan to attend his office on 15 January, should have divulged the actual reasons of this interview. Ross thought that Trotman was wrong and I agree with Ross-in having done this. A "cardinal principle" of police practice is not to let a suspect know he is liable to be arrested. Trotman's notice gave MacLennan the opportunity to cover his tracks. Although Trotman did not tell Brooks in the telephone conversation that he had informed MacLennan of the actual reason of the interview, both Brooks and Ross assumed (in the circumstances rightly) that he did.
88.
Brooks and Ross then discussed whether the arrangements for MacLennan's arrest should be altered. They decided against any change as any damage that could have been done by what Trotman had told MacLennan would already have been done. It was thought that in the circumstances it was better for a Solicitor to be present so that the possibility of any claim of SIU misconduct would be lessened. Either Clancy or the Deputy Director of Criminal Investigation, Mr. Thorpe, was informed of the above.
89.
I shall deal with the events on 14 January 1980 and the day of arrest in greater detail in Chapter 6.
J. THE EVIDENCE AGAINST MACLENNAN
90.
The SIU had, in the course of its investigation on MacLennan, interviewed and obtained statements from the following Chinese males:-
(1) Peter
(2) Alan
(3) Michael
Type of Offence
Buggery and Gross Indecency
Refused to admit homosexual relationship with MacLennan
Gross Indecency
(4) Jeff Tso Yuk-kwong
Gross Indecency
(5) Eddie Chu Wai-kwong
Gross Indecency
(6) Bobby
Gross Indecency
(7) Lula
Gross Indecency
91.
(8) Jimmy
(9) Wicky Kwok Siu-keung
Buggery and Gross Indecency Gross Indecency
As Peter, Eddie and Jimmy were involved in the blackmail of Logan, it was decided that their evidence was not to be used in the prosecution of MacLennan. Another youth, Alan, refused to admit having committed any homosexual acts with MacLennan. The eight charges of homosexual offences were, therefore, based on the statements made by five youths, namely, Michael, Jeff, Bobby, Lula and Wicky.
92. Of the nine, seven gave evidence before the Commission. The Commission was unable to trace the remaining two, Eddie Chu Wai-kwong and Wicky Kwok Siu-keung. The statements of Eddie and Wicky were read out, but I am unable to place any weight on them. The seven youths who gave evidence were subjected to the most rigorous and searching examination. The evidence of two of the seven, namely Lula and Michael, was so completely discredited by cross-examination as not to be worthy of credence at all. Lula's evidence took three days, and Michael's three and a half days. There were so many lies, inconsistencies and mistakes on matters of importance that no conclusions could be drawn from these two persons' evidence and statements.
93.
There was a third witness, Tso Yuk-kwong called Jeff, whose evidence and statements are so palpably inconsistent and untrue on matters of importance as to be also not worthy of any credence whatsoever. He is an unmitigated liar. I have therefore disregarded his evidence and statements in their entirety. He was also involved in an incident in which he alleged that he had been forcibly detained at the Lee Gardens Hotel by three escorts employed by the Commission's investigators. After he had made a statement to the Commission's investigator, Mr. Reeder, he indicated that he was too frightened to go home. The escorts were therefore ordered to offer him protective custody, but they might have misunderstood their instructions, thereby giving him the impression that he was being detained against his will He managed to escape from the escorts in the middle of the night, taking with him some belongings of the escorts. The incident formed the subject of a thorough investigation by the Legal Department and the Police. That incident has no bearing on my assessment of his reliability as a witness. (See also Appendix 6).
94.
I now come to the remaining four witnesses:-Peter, Alan, Jimmy and Bobby. Inspite of numerous lies, inconsistencies and mistakes in their evidence and statements, a reliable picture has emerged.
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