PUBLIC ORDER
Illegal immigrants arrested at these places were prosecuted and sentenced to imprison- ment before being repatriated to their places of origin. Employers of illegal immigrants, including principal contractors in the construction industry, were also prosecuted and fined and, in serious cases, custodial sentences were imposed. In 1994, 82 employers of illegal immigrants were prosecuted. In addition, publicity continued to emphasise that there will be no amnesties.
In 1994, a total of 35 537 illegal immigrants were apprehended and repatriated. This figure, which includes arrests by police and the number of illegal immigrants caught working, represented a decrease of 19.5 per cent on the 44 146 apprehended in 1993.
Investigation and Prosecution of Immigration Offences
A total of 16 676 charges were laid against persons who had committed various immigration offences. These included remaining in Hong Kong illegally, breaching conditions of stay, making false statements or representations, and using or possessing forged documents.
Deportation and Removal
The department is responsible for the application, issue and execution of deportation and removal orders. During the year, 9 253 persons who had been convicted of possessing or trafficking in dangerous drugs, deception, theft and other criminal offences were considered for deportation. Subsequently, 405 were deported. In addition, 1 184 persons were removed from Hong Kong under removal orders. These included 111 illegal immigrants, mostly of Chinese origin, and 1 073 persons who had breached their conditions of stay.
Fire Services
The Fire Services Department is responsible for fire-fighting and rescue on land, sea and at the airport. It also provides emergency ambulance services and fire protection advice to the public. The department is composed of 7 294 uniformed personnel and 739 civilian staff members. One of the biggest fire brigades in the world, it is known as an efficient and pro- fessional force, supported by well-trained personnel, advanced communications systems, and modern appliances and equipment.
There were 65 fire stations, five fire boat stations and 29 ambulance depots at the end of 1994. They were strategically located throughout the territory to provide an emergency response to all areas within target response times. The department continued to plan and build fire stations and ambulance depots to cope with local developments.
It was another busy and eventful year for the service, which responded to a total of 475 172 calls for assistance comprising 29 472 fire calls, 20 365 special service calls and 425 335 ambulance calls.
The persistent torrential rain in July and August, which caused widespread flooding in the northwestern New Territories and many landslides throughout the territory, kept firemen and ambulancemen extremely busy. In many landslide incidents, survivor detectors were used to help search for those feared buried.
Fire Suppression
Of the 29 472 fire calls received during the year, 54 were classified as major fires at No. 3 alarm and above. The major causes of the fires were careless handling or disposal of
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