Archives - Details
Record ID
HKRS153
Title
Death Report Files
Date
1966 - 1972
Level
Series
Archival History
The series was maintained in the custody of the creating agency until transfer to the PRO
Creating Agency
Judiciary, Coroner's Court
Transferring Agency
Judiciary, Coroner's Court
Administrative / Biographical History
The Coroner's Court was established in 1967 under the Coroner's Ordinance (Cap 14) to handle inquiries into deaths arising from unusual circumstances.
Scope and Content
The series comprises case files relating to reports of deaths. The contents of the files include post-mortem examination reports, autopsy orders, notifications of death, minutes and other working papers.
Physical Description
Hard and soft cover folders, 34-34.5 x 22.5 x 0.25-6.5 cm. Papers attached using Treasury tags.
Arrangement System
Year and consecutive single number system, the number starting at '1' each year, with a 'DR' (Death Report) prefix. From certain years, a letter suffix was usually added indicating the geographical area, viz: 'HK' for Hong Kong from 1969; 'K' for Kowloon from 1971; and 'NT' for New Territories from 1970. Range of control symbols DR 1/67 - DR 554/74(HK); DR 40/70 - DR 786/74(K); DR 101/70 - DR 540/74(NT).
Conditions Governing Access
With the approval of the Judiciary
Language and Scripts
English
Finding Aids
A microfilm copy of the Register of Death Reports (Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories), which accompanied the files at the time of transfer, was made by the PRO. The original Register was subsequently returned to the transferring agency.
Entries in the Register are made across two pages, in columns. They are, from left to right: report number, name, sex and age of deceased, and cause of death.
The volume for 1970 was missing at the time of filming. The missing names were entered on a Transfer List instead.
Note
The descriptive information is mainly transcribed from the Series Identification Sheet in 2000.