- 23-
Reply:
Mr.President,
L
(a) The Kwun Tong Town Centre Redevelopment Scheme proposed by the Land Development Corporation (LDC) is still being considered by the Corporation and the Administration. If the Scheme is to be implemented, the Kwun Tong District Board, and other relevant local bodies where appropriate, will be consulted in advance on any proposal to relocate the methadone clinic.
(b) No decision has been made on whether and where the methadone clinic in Kwun Tong should be relocated. The Government is open-minded about the location of methadone clinics. An important consideration is the accessibility of the clinic. as the objective of the methadone programme is to offer a readily accessible out-patient service for those drug abusers who seek treatment but, for various reasons, would not be able to take part in residential treatment programmes.
(c) The drug abuse problem in the neighbourhood of Tsui Ping Estate is being tackled at source by stepped up law enforcement action, and preventive education and publicity.
Police enforcement action against drug activities in Tsui Ping Estate has been stepped up. This can be seen from the number of arrests for serious narcotics offences in Tsui Ping Estate, which has increased from 46 in 1994 to 80 in the first nine months of 1995. At the street level, enhanced enforcement actions are taken on a daily basis against drug sellers and users. Information and intelligence on drug activities, with particular emphasis against drug sellers, are collected, collated and acted upon by the Kwun Tong District Special Duties Squad to target known drug sellers.
The Police also contributes to anti-drug education by organising school visits and seminars with school headmasters and discipline masters, focussing on the prevention of drug abuse by students.
Extra efforts have been put in preventive educational and publicity measures to arouse awareness among Kwun Tong residents on the drug problem. Emphasis has been laid on enhancing parents' understanding on the prevention and carly detection of their children's involvement in drugs. In 1995/96, a total of seven programmes involving 10,000 participants have been/will be implemented by the social welfare service units in the district. Existing counselling services of family services centres and probation offices in the district have also been strengthened to help young people with drug problems and their families.