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PART V PERSONS INVOLVED
because, in addition to the facts about age etc., some details of their background were included and they were asked to state their reasons for becoming involved in these offences. Of the curfew breakers, 102 (40%) claimed they did not know that a curfew had been imposed whilst 81 (31.8%) said they did not realize the serious ness of the curfew or had insufficient time to go home. 68 (26.7%) said they com mitted the offence in the excitement of the moment, which was also the reason given by the majority for the commission of other offences. 194 offenders had received only a primary education, 102 had been to junior or senior middle schook, five had attended a post secondary college and 12 had never been to school at all. 146 (46.6%) had been in Hong Kong for less than ten years and only 11% were married. Only six were unemployed and 15 were students. The average number of hours worked per day was nine and the income earned ranged from nil to $2,000 per month. 170 (54.3%) were receiving under $300 a month whilst 106 (33.9%) were receiving between $400 and $600 a month.
Survey of detainees at Begonia Road
378. At our request, a group of social workers made a survey of those younger prisoners who were held at the Begonia Road Boys Home for offences arising out of the disturbances. As only 24 boys were interviewed, these workers stressed that they could not be considered as sufficiently representative of the hundreds of youths who actually took part in the riots. A further reason for not regarding them as representative is mentioned in the next paragraph. The workers also expressed some reservations as to the scientific validity of their survey, because of limitations of time and doubts as to whether their questionnaire was properly balanced and sufficient fully to support their somewhat ambitious aim of building up a reason- ably accurate picture of the background and certain relevant attitudes of these youngsters.
379. Whilst accepting these reservations, we think the answers received are of sufficient interest to merit quoting some of them. They are given for their qualita- tive rather than quantitative value, all the more so as we were in no position to assess the real veracity of these answers or the extent to which they may have been coloured by the fact that the boys at the time of the interviews were actually paying the penalty for their recent clash with authority. Moreover the 24 came from those who had received comparatively heavier punishments, those with short sentences had already been released at the time of the survey and many of those convicted were never imprisoned at all.
380. Social background. The boys ranged from 13 to 17 years of age. The majority (18) had been born in Hong Kong. Most had left school at the time of the riots and the majority (14) had been away from school from two to three years. Ten gave 'lack of interest' as their reasons for leaving school and six ‘financial difficulty'. Fifteen had both parents in the family. One had no parents in Hong Kong. Four had fathers only and four had mothers only. Three of the boys did
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