Trespass on mining land.
(b) to search the person and property of any person the arrest of whom is hereby authorized: Provided that no female person shall be searched other than by a female; (e) to seize remove and detain-
(i) any thing with respect to which any such officer may have reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence against these regulations has been committed;
() any thing which may appear to such officer likely la be, or to contain evidence of any such offence.
12. (0) For the purposes of this regulation "mining land" shall mean any area of unleased Crown land and any land in respect of which a mining lease or licence has been granted under which it is lawful to extract a mineral from such land.
(2) If the Governor is of opinion that despite the provisions of these regulations and the ordinary provisions of law persons are trespassing in large numbers on any mining land for the purpose of unlawfully extracting minerals therefrom and that by reasons of the methods employed by such persons or the vicinity of a catchment area or the dangers to health and sanitation or for any other reason which he may deem sufficient, it is expedient in the public interest that this regulation shall apply to such arca of mining land, he may by order to be signified in the Gaselle declare that this regulation shall apply to such area. Any such order shall remain in force for a period of three months from the date of its publication in the Gazette and shall then expire. Such expiry shall have the same effect as the repeal of an enactinent but shall be without prejudice to the making of a further order under this paragraph in respect of the same aren of mining land.
(3) As from the expiration of the seventh day following the publication in the Gaselle of any such order it shall be an offence for any person to be upon any mining land to which such order applies without lawful authority: Penalty for a first offence, a fine of two hundred and fifty dollars or imprisonment for six weeks, for a second or subsequent offence, a fine of five hundred dollars or imprisonment for three months.
(4) Lawful authority for the purposes of paragraph (3) shall in the case of unleased Crown land in respect of which no mining licence has been granted mean the authority of the District Commissioner, New Territories, and otherwise shall mean the authority of the lessee or licensee under any mining lease or licence.
A
(5) Without prejudice to regulation 11, any member of His Majesty's Forces when acting in conjunction with or by way of assisting any police officer in detecting or apprehending any person who has or is reasonably suspected of having committed an offence against paragraph (3) of this regulation shall have all the powers of a police officer.
13. It shall be lawful for a magistrate to order to be forfeited Forfeiture. to the Crown any minerals with respect to which any offence under these regulations has been committed, whether any person shall have been convicted of such offence or not, and upon the making of such order for forfeiture the said minerals shall be deemed to be the property of the Crown free from all rights of any person. Before making any such order the magistrate shall give to any person claiming or appearing to the magistrate to be the owner of or otherwise interested in such article an opportunity of being heard : Provided that it shall be lawful for the Governor in his pbsolute discretion to give effect to any claim for relief from such forfeiture where such claim is established to bis satisfaction on equitable, moral or other grounds.
SCHEDULE,
FORM 1.
Afineral Removal Permit.
[reg. 4.]
The Emergency (Control of Minerals) Regulations, 1951.
Permission is hereby granted to
on behalf of to remove (4)
of (b)
from
to
Signed
a.m./p.m.
195
•
Time and date of issue
(*) Qœantity.
(0) Mineral.