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Friday, June 30, 1972
All the offences under the bill will be triable by a magistrate,
though if the facts of any offence warrant, a charge under the bill may be
tried either by the Supreme Court or the District Court.
The bill also gives power to any court to order a person convicted of
an offence to pay compensation to a person who suffers personal injury or los6
of or damage to his property, or both, as a result of the offence. There is no
limit placed in the case of the Supreme Court or the District Court, but a
magistrate may award compensation only up to $5,000. Similar powers already
exist, though the present maximum which can be awarded by a magistrate is only
$500.
The bill repeals and replaces the Malicious Damage Ordinance and the
provisions relating to criminal damage to property in the various other Ordinances
listed in the Schedule to the Bill. The common law offence of arson is abolished
and replaced by the statutory offence in the bill,
The bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council on July 5.
However, it will not be brought into operation until a date to be appointed by
the Governor by notice in the gazette, The Government intends that there should
be an interval of about 3 months between its enactment and its coming into
operation to enable the courts, the police and the legal practitioners to
familiarise themselves with the changes in the law made by the bill.
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