Speech by the Attorney General, Mr. Michael Thomas, Q.C.
Second Reading of Interpretation and General Clauses (Amendment) Bil1
Sir,
12 March, 1986
I move that the Interpretation and General Clauses
(Amendment) Bill be read a second time.
2.
This Bill seeks to increase the maximum penalty
that may be imposed by the Court on a person who has been
convicted of the offence of conspiracy to defraud. At
present, a convicted offender is liable to be sentenced
for up to 7 years' imprisonment. It is proposed to raise
this limit to 14 years' imprisonment.
3.
The reason for this proposal is that a maximum
of 7 years is clearly out of line with the penalties
prescribed in other Ordinances for comparable offences
involving fraud. For instance, under the Crimes Ordinance
the maximum penalty for making a false entry in a bank book
with intent to defraud is life imprisonment and the maximum penalty for forging a valuable security is 14 years'
imprisonment. The offence of handling stolen goods under the Theft Ordinance, which could include money obtained
by deception, has a maximum penalty of 14 years. The
maximum penalties for other fraudulent offences
under