ORDINANCE No. 12 OF 1857. 391
Venereal Diseases.
No. 12 of 1857.
An Ordinance for Checking the spread of Venereal Diseases . Title.
[ 24th November, 1857. ]
HEREAS it is expedient to make provision for checking the spread of venereal Preamble.
W diseases within this Colony : Be it therefore enacted by His Excellency the
Governor of Hongkong, with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows :
1. In the interpretation of this Ordinance, the following words or phrases shall Definition of
terms.
have the respective meanings hereby assigned to them, that is to say,
"Prostitute " shall mean any woman who shall live or reside in a registered
or a declared brothel.
"Declared Brothel " shall mean any house in which women live or reside ,
or which they frequent, for the purposes of prostitution, and which
shall in any judicial proceedings under this Ordinance be sworn or
deposed to be such by any two witnesses ; or which shall be declared to
be such, by the Registrar General.
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' Registered Brothel " shall mean any house in which women live or are kept
for the purposes of prostitution, and which shall be certified to be such
in writing by the Registrar General, and which shall be entered and
numbered on a list or register of such houses to be kept by the Registrar
General.
2. From and after the passing of this Ordinance no person shall keep a brothel All brothels to be
registered, and
within the Colony of Hongkong, unless the same be registered , nor unless the same be to be within
certain districts.
within one or other of the following districts or portions of districts, namely, -Ha-wan,
from Spring Gardens eastward, -Sei-ing-poon , from the junction of Hollywood Road
and Queen's Road West westward, and Tai- ping -shan, except such parts of such
districts or portions of districts as face the Queen's Road ; and if any person shall be
convicted of keeping a brothel outside of such districts as aforesaid, or an unregistered
brothel within the same, such person shall, for the first offence, be sentenced to pay a
fine not exceeding one hundred current dollars, or to imprisonment, with or without
hard labour, for a term not exceeding three months, and for the second offence to pay Penalties.
a fine not exceeding two hundred current dollars, or to imprisonment, with or without
hard labour, for a term not exceeding six months, and for the third offence to pay a
fine not exceeding five hundred current dollars, or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding twelve months : Provided always, that it may be lawful for the Magistrate
before whom such offender shall be brought to punish such offender both by fine and
imprisonment, or by one or other of such modes according to his discretion ; and Brothels may be
proceeded
nothing herein contained shall be taken to bar any person from indicting any brothel against as nui
sances.
whatsoever as a nuisance.