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and enables an immigration officer to require the owners or agents of the ship or aircraft in which the immigrant arrived to remove him at their expense in another ship or aircraft. An immigration officer will also be able to require the owners of any ship or aircraft to remove an immigrant who is refused permission to land, but in such a case the Government will have to meet the cost of his removal.
DETENTION.
The existing law authorizes detention for up to 4 days for immigration inquiries. Experience has shown that the detailed inquiries which are sometimes necessary cannot always be completed satisfactorily within that period and the Bill permits detention for that purpose for not more than seven days.
The power to detain in connexion with immigration examinations and removal or deportation from Hong Kong are not changed in substance, though the Bill makes some procedural changes and clarifies the law.
Additional powers to detain are introduced by clauses 24 and 27(2). Objections to the Governor in Council against decisions of the Director of Immigration are an important feature of the immigration law. It is, however, also important that the lodging of an objection should not provide an opportunity for the objector to evade the Director's decision if it is confirmed. Accordingly, clause 24 empowers the Director to detain an objector pending the decision on an objection.
The other new power will enable the Colonial Secretary to detain a person while the question of his removal by order of the Governor is being considered. The absence of such a power at present has caused difficulty in some cases and the difficulties might increase now that a conviction is not a pre-requisite to the removal of an illegal immigrant or a person who is in breach of conditions of stay. Furthermore, a power to detain pending consideration of the question of removal under the Governor's new power is essential.
Provision is also made for the detention for the purpose of police inquiries, in special cases affecting the security of Hong Kong, of persons who have returned to Hong Kong in breach of a deportation order (clause 26).
SUSPENSION OF DEPORTATION ORDERS.
As the law stands, a deportation order must either continue in force or be rescinded altogether. This is unsatisfactory,
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particularly in the case of persons whose deportation is for the time being impracticable, and clause 50 empowers the Governor to suspend a deportation order as an alternative to rescission. The power to suspend is not limited to cases where deportation is impracticable since this course may be appropriate in other circumstances.
Power to rescind the suspension of a deportation order is vested in the Governor in Council since revocation is tantamount to deportation. These new provisions require additional powers of arrest and detention (clauses 29 and 50(3)).
OFFENCES.
Some improvements in detail are made. The major changes are as follows.
The serious offences under clauses 33(4) and 34, which are a continuation of existing summary offences, will also be triable on indictment.
Under section 23 of the Immigration (Control and Offences) Ordinance, the Director of Immigration is empowered to impose a civil penalty in a fixed sum of one thousand dollars on the owner of any aircraft in which a person who does not have a valid travel document is brought to Hong Kong. The fixed penalty is not altogether desirable and clause 36 now makes it an offence to bring to Hong Kong a passenger who does not have a travel document, so that a court will have discretion as to the penalty to be imposed.
Clause 38 introduces new offences in relation to false statements made to immigration officers and others acting under the legislation or in documents furnished for the purposes of the legislation. Clause 38(2), in addition to re-enacting the existing law relating to forgery of travel documents and possession of forged or false travel documents, will make it an offence to alter a travel document and to use or possess an unlawfully altered travel document. It will also be an offence to possess a travel document if a false statement was made in connexion with an application for its issue.
FORFEITURE OF VEHICLES AND SHIPS.
The provisions for the forfeiture of vehicles and ships have been revised considerably and follow substantially the corres- ponding modern provisions of the Import and Export Ordinance 1970. In particular, a court is given a discretion with respect to forfeiture.