‘Unlawful treatment of defendant’

Press, 25 February 1981, Page 4

‘Unlawful treatment of defendant’

-The Mr Asia’case

NZPA Lancaster Allegations of unlawful and unlair ueatmet of a “Mr Asia” trial defendant were outlined to the Lancaster Castle Court yesterday. Police evidence taken from a Londoner, Jack Barclay, should be excluded from the! trial, his counsel argued. The arrest, detention.!, interviews and treatment of! Mr Barclay would be chal-1 lenged, Mr Michael Hill,' Q.C., said. Barclay, aged 27, is a' chartered accountant ailegecj to have played an essential! part in the drugs conspiracy. ) Mr Hill was opening a‘ legal argument that is expected to continue all week in the long-running trial. I Before he began the jury! was sent from the Court and! 'told not to return until to-’j morrow. The seven men and five, women heard just over an hour’s evidence as the drugs! consyiracy and murder trial) began its thirty-third day. ; A Los Angeles detective. Stanley Fea, explained to defence counsel the meaning: of a crimes summary which i listed the California record of the- previous witness. Beniamin Bennett. : Mr Bennett gave evidence of meeting two New Zealanders, allegedly members

of the ring, Alexander Sinclair and Karen Soich. The American admitted last week to having been a pimp and a drugs in Los Angeles. In their cross-examination of Mr Fea yesterday, defence counsel did not make up allegations made at the committal hearing that Mr Bennett was a paid police informer. The jury then heard prosecution counsel read a list of admission' to.it on evidence that the defence recently agreed upon. . Among the inclusions were two Australian passports alleged to have been used by the syndicate’s “Mr Big,” Sinclair. Also mentioned were the fact that an Australian passport was issued on July 6, 1979, to a New South Wales man, Robert Trimbole, and a list of Sydney telephone numbers. The admission of this evidence means Australian witnesses will not now have to I flv over to the trial to identify the passports and other documents in person. After agreeing to a week-

long Easter recess on the sug-’ gestion of the Judge, Mrs Rose Justice Heilbron, the jury then left the Court. Mr Hill began to outline the basis and extent of his argument. “None of the al-; leged confessions was volun-; tary or can be dentonstra-; ted,” he said. “1 shall seek to demon-; strate that this man (Barclay) was unlawfully arrested and detained and when interviewed he was. improperly treated.” ! He alleged that there had; been breaches of the Britishj Judges’ Rules for the inter-; view of prisoners. “The way in which the defendant was dealt with almost from his first arrest was unlawful and unfair,” Mr Hill said. "I will submit that your ladyship has discretion and I should exercise it to exclude; the evidence." Barclay was picked up’ with his mother, Leila, and) her business associate, Fred-) erick Russell, at their North; London home by Lancashire, detectives and members ofj Scotland Yard’s Flying

Squad on October 31, 1979. Both Mrs Barclay and' Russell have pleaded guilty, to the drugs conspiracy since their indictment. Bar-| clay has pleaded not guilty. '| Mr Hill cross . .aniined four detectives about the ! hours after the three were; taken from their home at; Briar Close, Finchley, to the; Kensington police station in central London where other; alleged conspirators were; also held. After being told of the. killing of the man known asi “Mr Asia,” an Aucklander,; Christopher Martin John-; stone, the three all wentl voluntarily, the Court heard. Mrs Barclay told the de-' tectives that Johnstone was; a very good friend of theirs.) and had left belongings at; their house. ; None of the three was ar-; rested until after they) reached the police station,! but, according to one detec-; tive's notes, they' were all; sen. ’.ed on arrival there. j Detective Sargeant John) Halsall agreed that he had) taken a ’-’’ness statement; from Barclay in three parts!

before the arrest was made. Mr Hill said that his client had not been cautioned befo“e he made the statement and Mr Halsall agreed. “I did not suspect him at that stage,” Mr Halsall said. Mr Hill asked another witness, Detective Constable Brian Piper, about a policeissue siren suit that Mr! Barclay was given to wear; when brought to Chorley.) Lancashire.

Successive defence counsel have drawn (he judge’s attention to the suits, which were alleged to have been ext. finely uncomfortable. Mr Piper wore one in an experiment for the prosecution and it was brought into court yesterday, ;

On Mr Hill’s suggestion the detective smelled the suit for sweat. He said it had no strong odour. “I’m not quite sure about that point.” Mrs Justice Heilbron said. “I’m not only a judge. I'm a woman and over tha years I've smelled some sweaty clothes. “People who wea’T the same clothes over a certain amount of time will natural-; ly make them smell.” ' Mr Hill said the fact that) thev smelled was just part, of 'his argument about the; suits. 1