4
Mr Stoker said that there had been criticism of the law both here and in England. It had been pointed out that it was illogical that an act which was lawful if done by one person should become unlawful simply because more than one person has agreed to commit it. There had also been criticism of the breadth of the conspiracy to defraud charge, which potentially covered almost every type of dishonest conduct.
Mr Stoker said that while neither England nor Hong Kong have a general offence of fraud, a number of other jurisdictions have had such an offence for many years. "The experience of those jurisdictions which possess an offence of fraud is that it works well, and can readily be understood by laymen and lawyers alike," Mr Stoker said.
The Commission proposes the creation of a new offence of fraud. This would be committed by a person who by deceit with intent to defraud induces another to follow a course of action resulting in either (a) prejudice or a substantial risk of prejudice to another or (b) benefit to the person committing the fraud. The person committing the fraud must know or believe that his deceit is false and must intend his victim to act upon it.
Anyone who wishes a copy of the report should contact the Secretary to the Commission, 20th floor Harcourt House, 39 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. The report can also be accessed on the Internet at http://www.info.gov.hk.
End
Latest unemployment and underemployment statistics
*
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the period March - May 1996 was 3.2%, and the underemployment rate was 1.9%, according to the latest labour force statistics released today (Monday) by the Census and Statistics Department.
For the period April
-
June 1996, the provisional seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged further lower to 3.1%. The provisional underemployment rate also fell slightly, to 1.8%.