C530
Amendment of
PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND JUVENILES (AMENDMENT) BILL 1987
10. Sections 30(1), 31(1) and (2), 32(2), 35(1) and 37(2) of the principal sections 30, 31, Ordinance are amended by deleting "the Colony" wherever it occurs and
substituting the following-
32, 35 and 37.
“Hong Kong”.
Explanatory Memorandum
The object of the Bill is to amend the principal Ordinance—
(a) to enable care proceedings in respect of a child under the age of
7 years to proceed in his absence, to give the court a discretion to require the presence of any child or juvenile and to require the court to notify a parent or guardian of such proceedings (clause 3(a) and (b));
(b) to widen the scope of supervision orders to include requirements as to the medical or surgical attention or treatment of supervised persons giving due consideration to the wishes of the parent or guardian (clauses 3(c) and 4);
(c) to allow a child or juvenile in need of urgent medical or surgical treatment or attention to be directly removed to, and detained in a hospital as an alternative to, or prior to being detained in, a place of refuge (clause 7); and
(d) to require the Director of Social Welfare or his authorized officer to obtain a warrant from a magistrate, juvenile court or District Court where entry to premises can only be effected by the use of force (clause 9(b)).
2.
3.
Clauses 4, 5, 8(a) and 9(a) make consequential amendments.
The opportunity is also taken to make some minor amendments to the principal Ordinance-
(a) by inserting a reference to "years" in the definition of "infant” in section 2 to be consistent with the definition of "juvenile" (clause 2);
(b) by replacing the reference to "magistrate" in section 35(4) with a
reference to "juvenile court" (clause 8(b)); and
(c) by replacing the references to "the Colony" in various sections
with references to "Hong Kong" (clause 10).
4. The Bill has no significant Public Service staffing or financial implications.