From the South China Morning Post this week in: 1976
After a four-day trial, two 19-year-old British soldiers were sentenced to death in the High Court by Mr Justice Yang for murdering a 54-year-old villager, Ng Fai, outside the Sek Kong [now Shek Kong] army camp. The court had heard that Gunner George William Puttock of the Royal Artillery and Trooper Donald David Bassett of the Royal Tank Regiment had attacked Ng, described as a wine brewer from Kam Tin, and Chung Ming-fat at around 5.30am on February 18.
The court heard that 'Bassett had spent most of the night drinking with Puttock as they were celebrating Bassett's return to England the next day'. On their way back to camp 'the defendants accosted certain people', causing damage to a minibus and injuring another man, 'and beating the last man to come along - Ng - to death with wooden poles'.
One witness said he had pleaded with the defendants to spare Ng's life, but that the two soldiers had ignored him and continued to beat Ng.
'One of Hong Kong's best known policemen' posted a bond of HK$300,000 so that he could visit 'several Southeast Asian cities next month'. The Independent Commission Against Corruption, which was investigating bribery charges against the officer, had applied to a magistrate to have his travel documents seized. However, 'informed of the special circumstances surrounding his forthcoming trip', the magistrate allowed the policeman - 'a well known sportsman' - to keep his travel documents.
Michael Newell, the presiding magistrate at Western Court, remained in 'satisfactory condition' at Queen Mary Hospital's psychiatric unit. He had been admitted there 'after giving absolute discharges to 64 people who had pleaded guilty before him on the morning of July 7'. One man, Lau Tung-ching, 31, who had been discharged by Mr Newell 'after pleading guilty to handling 900 bottles of stolen brandy worth $43,092', had disappeared.