Under the present law, prosecution for an offence under the Registration of Persons Regulations must be brought within two years from the commission of the offence. However it often happens that offences under the regulations are not detected until some years after they have been committed. Amending regulation 10 proposes that the time limit for prosecutions be extended to 3 years for the following offences:
(a) failure by an adult registrant or new arrival to apply
for registration;
(b) failure by a parent or guardian to register a child at
the age prescribed for juvenile registration;
(c) failure of a person to re-register on attaining the age
of 18; and
(d) failure to report changes of registered particulars.
The three years limitation is in line with the provisions in section 46(2) of the Immigration Ordinance (Chapter 115) in respect of persons who have landed and remained in Hong Kong illegally and those who have contravened a condition of stay. Amending regulation 10 also provides where appropriate, that reasonable excuse will provide a defence.
16
In order to provide a deterrent to those who may seek to evade the provisions of the legislation, clause 6(b) of the Registration of Persons (Amendment) Bill provides for increases in the maximum penalties that may be provided for offences under the regulations from $1,000 to a fine of $5,000 and from 6 months imprisonment to 2 years.
Issue of Identity Cards to Illegal Immigrants
17
In May 1968, in the context of the policy on illegal immigration, Honourable Members considered a paper (XCC (68)29 dated 28th May 1968) which stated, inter alia, that "it is desirable that there should not be persons in Hong Kong with an identity card but no authority to reside or vice versa". However, regulation 5 of the Registration of Persons Regulations requires the registration officer to prepare an identity card for collection by an applicant for registration, whether his presence in Hong Kong is legal or not. This procedure has given rise to difficulty in practice, in so far as an illegal immigrant can demand an identity card without having his stay regularised. Amending regulation 5 therefore provides that an identity card will not be issued to an illegal immigrant until his stay in Hong Kong has been authorised by the Director of Immigration.
CONFIDENTIAL