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MR. HUI : Sir, refugees in open camps enjoy
camps enjoy freedom of
movement and freedom to work and live under similar
conditions as ordinary citizens of Hong Kong. What are
reasons for the relatively higher crime
the exceptional
rate?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY : Sir, the exact reasons for the
relatively higher crime rate are not known but
but possibly
the offenders' prolonged stay in a refugee camp is a major
contributory factor. There is also the fact of a reducing
overall population and a probably more
more static population
of the criminally inclined. But I should say that
comparison is difficult because
are trying to compare
one abnormal group of 2,900 people with a population of
5.6 million, or, to put it another way, the 422 offenders
who came from the open camp at Kai Tak in 1987 over the
age of seven years, with the 84,128
population as a whole.
offenders for the
DR. HO:
Will Government
consider other forms of
punishment or sanctions on the Vietnamese refugees for
their criminal offences in order not to affect their
resettlement prospects?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY : Yes, Sir, the Government is
keeping these matters under constant review.