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totals include juvenile offenders as well as adult offenders and first offenders as well as
recidivists. So it is not surprising that only a small proportion of those convictions resulted in
imprisonment.
I would also mention that when Mr. S. L. Chen refers to the number of custodial sentences in each class of offence he is taking only the
sentences of imprisonment and has left out of account other forms of custodial sentence such as confinement to detention centre, training centre or a drug addiction treatment centre.
Mr. S.L. Chen drew attention to the
average sentence of imprisonment for rape, robbery and theft. But circumstances vary so much in each particular case. So, in order to give the Council a better idea of the level of sentences imposed by the courts, the Judiciary have provided me with the individual sentences handed down for these cases in 1985 by the High Court and by the District Court.
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Take the offence of rape first, a serious offence which led to 27 convictions in 1985 in the High Court. Four offenders were sentenced to life imprisonment, two got 15 years, one got 14 years, four got 7 years, four got 6 years and eight others got 4 years or more. Four years was the lowest sentence of imprisonment handed down. offenders were sent either to a training centre or to a detention centre. These figures, which bear
Young
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