Supplementary to Question No. in LegCo Meeting on 25.1187
Mr. CHEONG-LEEN
Sir, will the Secretary for Security
bring to the attention of the Law Reform Commission the following
pertinent observations which were made by the then Attorney General,
Mr. John Hobley, when he moved the Second Reading of the Crimes
(Amendment) (No.2) Bill 1979 on 25 April 1979. I think his
"police force has also found it
observations give some background of the social conditions existing
at that time, especially in the older resettlement estates and which
may not necessarily apply in the modern estates and in the streets
the of urban Kowloon. He said:
difficult to cope adequately with groups of thugs or bullies skulking
around in the street or public parts of buildings, behaving in
an offensive or menacing way without actual aggression.... What this
Bill seeks therefore is the introduction of an enlarged loitering
law which will help in crime prevention and generally help the police
force to minimise the public manifestations of the association of
thugs and bullies. The aim must be to obtain mastery of the gangs
which is essential in order to obtain the public co-operation which
is needed if the real activities of the gangs are to be tackled
successfully."
Secretary for Security : Yes, Sir.
Mrs.
FAN
Sir, can the Secretary for Security
inform this Council whether the use of the loitering law as an
effective means to prevent crime from being committed has decreased
in recent years, and if so, whether he intends to draw the attention
of the Law Reform Commission to this factor?