You recently reported that, according to a survey, people from far eastern or South American cultures are more likely to commit perjury in certain given circumstances when compared with people of north American or north European cultures (see [2006] Gazette, 25 May, 11).

I have nothing to doubt the accuracy of the report of that survey, or indeed the survey itself. However, there was no report of any balancing survey indicating when or whether north Americans and north Europeans might be more likely to lie than those from eastern or South American cultures. Nor was there any suggestion that such a balancing survey might have been done, or that it might be possible to find such a balancing result.


In this omission, the article strongly suggests that some cultures are inherently more dishonest than others. It is unwise for a publication such as the Gazette to carry such an article.


Kamran Rahman, Maples Teesdale, London