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24.
Mr LEE said that in the UK scheme the arrangement was very different: the defendant's assets were first investigated and quantified, and it was only then that he had to prove that the assets were not his. Mr LEE said that he was against the principle that an offender should pay money without its being proved that he had the money. He was not opposed to increasing the maximum available fines or prison sentences, but the automatic indebtedness scheme seemed to be an indirect way of forcing judges to impose fines, and this was unacceptable.
Mr LEE said that there was already a maximum fine of $5 million for the more serious offences under the dangerous drugs ordinance: this could be increased and the Chief Justice might advise judges to be more realistic in their sentencing. But the final discretion of the judges to award sentences must be left intact.
25.
Mr LEE said that the confiscation order proposal seemed to be logical and sensible, and under the scheme every asset under the defendant's control could be deemed to be proceeds from drug trafficking. The word "trace" used in connection with the scheme was perhaps misleading, since all assets found to be under the control of the defendant at the time of the investigation were subejct to forfeiture and they did not have to be traced as being proceeds from drug trafficking.
26.
Mr LEE said that he had spoken confidentially on the proposals with the Chairman of the Bar Association and could, if the Administration agreed, arrange a confidential meeting to consult the Committee of the Bar Association on the proposals. Mr Jeaffreson welcomed this suggestion provided that the meeting was kept confidential.
27.
In reply to Mr LEE's views, Mr Findlay said that the automatic indebtedness scheme was only acceptable if one accepted the premise in paragraph 15 of the paper that drug traffickers shared a collective responsibility for the misery caused by their trade. If one did not accept this premise, then Mr LEE's arguments were right. Mr Findlay said that increasing maximum fines and prison sentences had not been effective in the U.K., and, if Members did not support the automatic indebtedness scheme he would prefer to pursue the confiscation order scheme. Members agreed with this suggestion, although a number of Members still accepted the collective responsibility idea. Mr WONG suggested that the Administration should prepare a version of the scheme, revised according to the views expressed during the meeting, for a further meeting of the Panel and to prepare accompanying proposals for introducing the maximum fines under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.
28.
Dr LAI suggested that the Administration should follow the example of other Asian countries and consider introducing the death penalty as a punishment for drug traffickers: this would act as a deterrent to drug
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