1949-HKRS28-8-16_Part02 — Page 27

Amendment

of section 6

of the

principal

Ordinance.

Amendmeat

of section 7

of the

principal Ordinance.

Substitution

for sub-

section (2) of

section to

of the

principal Ordinance.

(3) A special magistrate shall, subject to the provisions of his warrant of appointment, exercise all the jurisdiction conferred on a magistrate or a police magistrate by any enactment in force in the Colony, but his powers of imposing imprisonment and fine shall, in the case of any enactment in force at the commencement of the Magistrates (Amendment) Ordinance 1949, he subject to the limitations us to the maximum term or terms of imprisonment and the maximum fine which such magis. trate may lawfully impose under this Ordinance a amended from time to time and in the case of any enactment coming into force after the commencement of The Magistrates (Amendment) Ordinance, 1949, be so subject unless such enactment expressly provides to the contrary.

(4) Any magistrats appointed under this section shall be a justice of the peace by virtue of his office,

(5) So long sa any warrant of appointment of a magistrate issued under this section is in force and unrevoked, it shall continue to bave effent notwithstanding bis subsequent appointment to some other othee."

4. Section 6 of the principal Ordinance is hereby amended-

(a) by the substitution of the words "The Director of Marine, and the Assistant Director of Marine" for the words "The Hurbour Master, the Deputy Harbour Master and the Assistant Harbour Master', in the first two lines thereof; and

(b) by the insertion of the word "special" before the word "'magistrate' in the fifth line thereof.

5. Section 7 of the principal Ordinunce is hereby amended-

(a) by the substitution of the following sub-section for sub- section (2) thereof;

**(2) Any two justices of the peace to whom this sub- section applies shall when sitting together have all the powers and jurisdiction conferred upon a special magistrate by this Ordinance: Frovided that such justices shall exercise their powers and discharge their duties in conformity with any direction given by the Chief Justice and under his general control and supervision."

(b) by the addition of the following sub-section after sub- section (2)

(3) Sub-section (2) shall apply to any justice of the peace who is willing to act and who in the opinion of the Governor may suitably in conjunction with another such justice exercise the powers and jurisdiction conferred by sub-section (2). A list of such justices to be published in the Gazette us soon as con- veniently may be after the 1st day of January in each year."

6. The following sub-section is hereby substituted for sub-section (2) of section 10 of the principal Ordinance:

"(2) For every distinct offence of which any person is accused there shall be a separate complaint or information, and such

every complaint or information shall be tried separately except in the following cases :----

[

(c) when a person is accused of more offences than one of the same or a similar character he may, subject to the provisions of section 20, be charged with and tried of the esine time with any number of them not exceeding three, whether they are offences committed with respect to the same person or not: Provided that if the Magistrate is of opinion that a person accused will be prejudiced or cimbarrassed in his defence, he may order a separate trial of any such charge or charges;

(0) if in one series of acts so connected together as to form the same transaction, more offences than one are committed by the same person, he may be charged with and tried at the same time for every such offence; and

(c) if u single act or series of seta is of such a nature that it is doubtful which of several offences the facts which can be proved will constitute, the accused person may be charged with having committed all or any of such offences and any number of such charges may be tried at once; or be may be charged in the alternative with having committed some one of the said offences.

7. Section 11 of the principal Ordinance is hereby amended by Amendment deleting the symbols and number **(1)** in sub-section (1) thereof and of section by deleting sub-section (2),

of the

principal Ordinance.

a. The following sections shall be inserted immediately after Addition of section 11:-

**Prosecution

of offence

to be under control of Autorney General.

Appointment of public

prosecutors

by Actorney General,

Private prosecution and inter- vencion by the Attorney General.

114. The Attorney General is hereby entrusted with the duty and discretion of conducting the prosecution of all offences cognizable by a magistrate: Provided that it shall be lawful for any member of the Hong Kong Police Force and such other public servant as the Attorney General may from time to time by any general or special direction authorise to lay before a magistrate an infor- mation in respect of an offence and that any such infor- mation shall be deemed to have been laid on behalf of the Attorney General and provided that in any such case be shall be deemed to be a party to the proceedings and such member or public servant shall not be so deemed.

1113. The Attorney General may appoint any public officer or clase of public officers to act as public prosecutor or prosecutors and to conduct generally on his behalf any prosecution before a magistrate or any specified classes of prosecutions or any particular case. Any public prosecutor so appointed may without any written autho rity appear and plead before a magistrate any case of which he has charge which is being inquired into, tried or reviewed.

110. (1) A complainant or informant who is mot nating or deemed to act on behalf of the Attorney General muy if he so wishes and without any prior leave conduct in person or by counsel on his behalf the prosecution of the offence to which the complaint or information relates

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