香港總督府
CONFIDENTIAL
J
i.
51
HKG D YX
MINISTER
GOVERNMENT HOUSE cc
HONG KONG
R
9 MAY 1977
14141210/1
LAST
E..
2nd May 1977
%
Des! (32)
ད་རབ་
Mal
KcF.
Thank you for your letter of 7th April
This
about fines for illegal employment of children. crossed the letter of Thornton (Acting Attorney- General) to Stewart of 18th April which reported some satisfactorily severe fines, and also that the Legislative Council will be asked to increase the maximum fine from $5,000 to $10,000 on 4th May.
2.
I have spoken to the Chief Justice, and after the new maximum has become law he will draw it to the attention of magistrates, and will take the opportunity of the next sentencing seminar to push home the lesson.
3.
On the other hand he is firmly opposed to the idea of a statutory minimum fine since cases differ so greatly. In the case of the illegal employment of
At children circumstances can vary very widely indeed. one end of the spectrum there is the child who has misrepresented his age, possibly borrowing his elder brother's identity card for the purpose, to gain pocket-money during the school holiday, when the employer is guilty of little more than failure to make sufficient enquiries. At the other end there is the manufacturer who sets out deliberately to employ children for a depressed wage and takes elaborate security precautions to avoid detection. It is of course the latter, I believe, comparatively rare category that one wants to hit.
4.
The Chief Justice stated his objection to me on grounds of principle. The Acting Attorney General is also opposed on grounds of principle, but also because he believes that a high minimum fine could result in magistrates being reluctant to convict in cases of a less heinous
nature.
5.
Of course the real answer to child labour is school places for all children up to an age at which there
The Rt Hon The Lord Goronwy-Roberts of
Caernarvon and of Ogwen