786
THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, OCTOBER 22, 1937.
No. 745.
Hong Kong.
น
ORDINANCE No. 38 of 1930. (PRISONS).
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 17 of the Prisons Ordinance, 1932, the Governor in Council amends the Prison Rules, set forth on pages 181 to 257 of the Regulations of Hong Kong, 1844-1925, as follows:-
Amendments.
1. The following rule is inserted immediately after rule 139:-
139A. The Medical Officer shall keep a prisoner who is confined under sentence of death in a prison at all times under special observation, and shall not later than seven days after the date of the sentence subunit a report on the prisoner's mental condition to the Governor.
2. Rule 183 is amended by renumbering the same as paragraph (1) thereof and adding the following paragraph thereto :-
(2) A prisoner awaiting trial shall, if necessary for the purposes of his defence, be allowed to see a registered medical practitioner appointed by himself or by his friends. or legal advisers, on any weekday at any reasonable hour, in the sight but not in the hearing of a prison officer.
3. The following rules are inserted immediately after rule 189:-
189A. A prisoner charged with a capital offence shall be kept under special observation at all times and the Medical Officer shall keep a written record, in which entries shall be made from time to time, daily if necessary, of the prisoner's physical and mental condition.
In order to assist the Medical Officer in forming an opinion as to the mental condition of the prisoner, the Medical Officer may apply to the Attorney General for a copy of the depositions taken before the magistrate.
189B.-(1) Not later than 7 days before the trial of a prisoner charged with a capital offence, the Medical Officer shall submit a report to the Attorney General on the mental condition of such prisoner, stating whether or not the prisoner has exhibited any indication of insanity and whether or not he is fit to plead.
(2) Such report should not express any opinion as to the prisoner's degree of responsibility at the time the offence was committed, but if, from symptoms exhibited while under observation in the prison the Medical Officer is of opinion that insanity exists and has done so for some time. previous to the offence, or that there is a distinct history of periodical attacks of insanity, followed by intervals of mental clearness, and that the prisoner has been enjoying a lucid interval while under observation in the prison, his report should embody this opinion.
B. C. K. HAWKINS,
COUNCIL CHAMBER,
20th October, 1937.
Clerk of Councils.