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constable of Force.
Power to officer or constable to apprehend person charged with or suspected of felony or misdemeanor.
No. 11.] THE ORDINANCES OF HONGKONG: [A.D. 1900,
person so offending shall, on summary conviction before a Magistrate, in addition to any other punishment to which he may be liable for such offence, be liable to a penalty not exceeding two hundred dollars.
28.-(1.) It shall be lawful for any officer or constable of the Force to apprehend any person who may be charged with, or whom he may reasonably suspect of being guilty of, any felony or misdemeanor, without any warrant for that purpose, and whether he has seen such felony or misdemeanor committed or not.
(2.) Whenever any person so apprehended is brought without warrant to the officer in charge of any Police Station, it shall be lawful for such officer, in a case of misdemeanor, if he deems it proper to do so and if no Magistrate is in attendance at his office, to take bail by recognizance, with or without sureties, in a sufficient sum, without fee or reward from such person, conditioned that such person shall appear for examination before a Magistrate at some place to be specified in the recognizance, being the earliest time then next after when a Magistrate will be in attendance at his office; and every recognizance so taken shall be of equal obligation on the parties entering into the same, and liable to the same proceedings for estreating thereof, as if the same had been taken before a Magistrate.
Protection of officer or constable acting in execution of warrant.
(3.) The respective names, residences, and occupations of the person so apprehended, and his surety or sureties, if any, entering into such recognizance, together with the condition thereof and the sums respectively acknowledged, shall be entered in a book to be kept for that purpose, which shall be laid before the Magistrate before whom the person apprehended is to appear; and if he does not appear when called upon at the time and place mentioned in the recognizance, the Magistrate shall forthwith estreat the recognizance: Provided that, if the person apprehended appears and makes application for a postponement of the hearing of the charge against him, the Magistrate may, if he sees fit to grant such application, enlarge the recognizance to such further time as he may think proper, and when the matter has been heard and determined, such recognizance shall be discharged without fee or reward.
29. In case any action is brought against any officer or constable of the Force for any act done in obedience to the warrant of any Magistrate, the officer or constable shall not be responsible for any irregularity in the issuing of the warrant or for any want of jurisdiction in the Magistrate issuing the same, and the officer or constable may plead the general issue and give such warrant in evidence; and, on production of the warrant and proof that the signature thereto is the handwriting of a person reputed to be a Magistrate and that the act was done in obedience to the warrant, the jury or Court before whom or which the action