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A SENIOR police inspector accused of corruption was freed yesterday because of a missing witness and a murdered triad boss.

District Court Judge Jackson halted the trial of Peter Pannu after concluding the absent witnesses had robbed the inspector of his right to a fair trial.

'In my view, it would be unjust to permit the case to proceed,' he said.

The defence had suffered a blow when the 'Tiger of Wan Chai', Andely Chan Yiu-hing, was gunned down outside a Macau hotel on November 21, 1993.

Had he lived, the Sun Yee On 'big brother' would no doubt have shared the prisoner's box with the inspectors, the judge said.

And he would almost certainly have supported their version of events.

Chan was said to have offered Mr Pannu and fellow inspector David Khosa a $20,000 bribe to shield him from a police investigation.

His death was not sufficient to derail the proceedings but a second key witness, Liu Chun-yip, was also absent. A 'mysterious third party' said Mr Liu no longer wished to testify.

Without him, defence lawyer Lawrence Lok QC would be denied the opportunity to highlight contradictions between Mr Liu's statements and those of star witness Leung Ting-fong.

Judge Jackson concluded the absence of both Chan and Mr Liu had weighted the scales of justice too heavily in favour of the prosecution.

Outside court, Mr Pannu said the ruling had come as no surprise. 'We shouldn't have been in court in the first place. We always knew we would get a stay or an acquittal,' he said.

In January 1993, Mr Liu, Khosa and Mr Pannu dined with Chan at the Fisherman's Wharf Restaurant in Wan Chai, prosecutor Wayne Moultrie told the court. It was there the senior inspectors were said to have pocketed $20,000 offered by the triad boss.

Mr Pannu, 31, and Khosa, 32, pleaded not guilty to accepting an advantage as a public servant.

Khosa and another defendant, Brar Balkar Singh, 37, also denied conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice.

It is alleged Brar agreed to tell both police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption he had lent Khosa the $10,000.

Khosa will be in court today to fight the second of the two charges.

Mr Moultrie said there was little chance of Mr Pannu returning to the prisoner's box. 'As it stands, it's unlikely the matter can be reopened,' he said.

A police spokesman said Mr Pannu, suspended with full pay since January 9, 1993, would remain on suspension until a disciplinary review was concluded.

The case against Khosa and Brar continues.



Witness blow frees Pannu