facilitates
Crime and special investigation powers.
Information resulting from unauthorised disclosures or entrusted in confidence.
(5) In this section “international relations " means the relations between States, between international organisations or between one or more States and one or more such organisations and includes-
(a) any matter relating to a State other than the United Kingdom or to an international organisation which is capable of affecting the relations of the United Kingdom with another State or with an international organisation; and
(b) any matter relating to the relations between the United Kingdom and
Hong Kong or the external relations of Hong Kong.
(6) For the purposes of this section any information, document or article obtained from a territory, State or organisation is confidential at any time while the terms on which it was obtained require it to be held in confidence or while the circumstances in which it was obtained make it reasonable for the territory, State or organisation to expect that it would be so held.
4.—(1) A person who is or has been a Crown servant or government contractor is guilty of an offence if without lawful authority he discloses any information, document or other article to which this section applies and which is or has been in his possession by virtue of his position as such.
(2) This section applies to any information, document or other article—
(a) the disclosure of which-
(i) results in the commission of an offence; or
(ii) facilities-an escape from legal custody or the doing of any other act
prejudicial to the safekeeping of persons in legal custody; or
(iii) impedes the prevention or detection of offences or the apprehension
or prosecution of suspected offenders; or
(b) which is such that its unauthorised disclosure would be likely to have any
of those effects.
(3) This section also applies to any information obtained by reason of action taken under an order issued under section 33 of the Telecommunication Ordinance(a), any information relating to the obtaining of information by reason of such action and any document or other article which is or has been used or helps for use in, or has been obtained by reason of, any such action.
(4) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section in respect of a disclosure falling within subsection (2)(a) above to prove that at the time of the alleged offence he did not know, and had no reasonable cause to believe, that the disclosure would have any of the effects there mentioned.
(5) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section in respect of any other disclosure to prove that at the time of the alleged offence he did not know, and had no reasonable cause to believe, that the information, document or article in question was information or a document or article to which this section applies.
(6) In this section “legal custody" includes detention in pursuance of any enactment or any instrument made under an enactment.
5.-(1) Subsection (2) below applies where-
(a) any information, document or other article protected against disclosure by the foregoing provisions of this Act has come into a person's possession as a result of having been--
(i) disclosed (whether to him or another) by a Crown servant or
government contractor without lawful authority; or
(ii) entrusted to him by a Crown servant or government contractor on terms requiring it to be held in confidence or in circumstances in which the Crown servant or government contractor could reasonably expect that it would be so held; or
(iii) disclosed (whether to him or another) without lawful authority by a person to whom it was entrusted as mentioned in sub-paragraph (ii) above; and
(a) Laws of Hong Kong, Cap. 106.
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