DRAFT LETTER FROM PRIME MINISTER TO DR MAHATHIR
I promised, when we met on 19 December 1990, to look into
the question whether Lorrain Osman, if convicted of the offences on the basis of which his extradition is sought by the Government of Hong Kong, might serve any prison sentence
in a Malaysian or even British jail. You later wrote to me
to ask whether he might be returned to Pentonville or some
other prison from Brixton where he is now detained.
On the first point, I understand that there are no existing arrangements under which it would be possible for Mr Osman, if convicted, to serve any sentence imposed in Hong Kong in Malaysia. The question of what arrangements might be made to facilitate such a transfer is a matter which your law
officers may wish to explore with the legal authorities in
Hong Kong.
Mr Osman's main argument for not wishing to serve any
sentence in Hong Kong seems to be his fear that he could be
transferred to mainland China if he was still in prison
after 1997, when Hong Kong reverts to the People's Republic
of China, or that the PRC would retrospectively increase his sentence or add further charges after 1997. Against the possibility that a prison transfer to Malaysia may prove impossible to arrange, you might find the following information helpful.
If convicted, and if Mr Osman's prison term should extend beyond 1 July 1997, his position would be protected by binding legal obligations undertaken by China in the Sino-British Joint Declaration in relation to the position and status of Hong Kong after China resumes sovereignty over the territory. Those obligations provide for a high degree of autonomy and in particular for a continuation of the present judicial and legal system of Hong Kong. The
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