- 13.
I should like to report briefly on the HKCAA's financial position for the year ending March 1995. The HKCAA is non-profit-making and is tax exempted. It is funded through fees approved by Government for its activities. Its actual income of $8.839m closely followed the budget of $8.85m. On the expenditure side, there was a saving of just over $2m owing to general cost containment and a lower than planned level of accreditation activities resulting in the post of the Deputy Executive Director being unfilled for part of the year. Total expenditure, however, fell short of the budgeted provision by $1.56m which was financed by the Council's accumulated
reserve.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chairman and members of the HKCAA for their services to the Council and their continued contribution to the development of tertiary education in Hong Kong.
End
Preparations for vulnerable witness protection legislation
The necessary preparations for the legislative reforms to enable vulnerable witnesses in criminal cases to give evidence without fear and without suffering unnecessary emotional distress were completed today (Wednesday).
These preparations were completed with the approval by the Legislative Council today of the Application for Dismissal of Charges Contained in a Notice of Transfer Rules made by the Chief Justice last month.
Moving a resolution in the council today, the Attorney General, the Hon Jeremy Mathews, said the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance 1995' introduced a number of new procedures. One of them was to prevent child or mentally handicapped witnesses from being required to give evidence in court twice in relation to serious abuses once at the committal proceedings and again at the trial.
In future, committal proceedings will not be needed when the Director of Public Prosecution issues a "notice of transfer" certifying that the evidence was sufficient for the accused to be committed for trial, he said, and a defendant to whom a "notice of transfer" relates may make an application to the High Court for dismissal of charges contained in the notice.