50
6.11
In order to ensure fairness, it might be necessary for the suspect to have access to a solicitor, so that the suspect would be assured of fair treatment. Thus it might be necessary to establish a duty lawyer scheme for identification parades. Considerable cost would be involved and the process of identification parades would be much more complicated.
6.12
A disadvantage of option (b) is that it retains a system in which the determined accused can avoid identification parades and leave the Police with the less-desirable option of a confrontation. The threat of comment at trial may be perceived by an accused as meaningless. In any event it may be meaningless.
THE PROTECTION OF EVIDENCE
Problem
6.13
When the defendant is a known or suspected triad affiliate, all too often a witness will fail to come up to proof at the defendant's trial. The witness sometimes refuses to come to court. Reluctant witnesses claim to have suffered loss of memory, or that, through lack of education or police pressure, they have signed an untruthful witness statement. There is reason to suspect, in most cases, that they have been intimidated, or bribed, or that the matter has been the subject of a "settlement talk".
Section 33 of the Crimes Ordinance, Chapter 200
6.14
The principle aim of the prosecution process is to obtain truthful witness statements from prosecution witnesses and to present this evidence in court. With this background, the police officer and prosecutor face the problem of how evidence may be preserved and at the same time, how it can be made clear to the witness that he is required to act in good faith, knowing the consequences of his actions. Witness statements presently carry an endorsement drawing the maker's attention to section 33 of the Crimes Ordinance, Chapter 200, which punishes anyone who wilfully makes a false witness statment. This section is of very limited use, being applicable only to statements handed to the court at committal or tendered in evidence under section 65B of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, Chapter 221 [that is evidence tendered by the prosecution which is unchallenged by the defence at trial]. Thus witness
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