Saving.
these regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of five thousand dollars and to imprison- ment for two years.
10. Nothing in these regulations shall derogate from or in any way restrict or affect any power conferred on the Commis- sioner of Mines or an authorized officer or police officer by or under any other law or the operation of any other lay-
COUNCIL CHAMBER,
Sth September 1967.
Clerk of Councils.
Explanatory Note.
(This Note is not part of the regulations, bar is intended to indicate their general purport).
As announced recently, the Government has withdrawn all stocks of conventional explosives into safe custody. It is now necessary to with- draw into safe custody stocks of fireworks and firecrackers in order that the explosive therein may also not be available for use in making bombs. These regulations make the necessary provisions,
The term "firework" bas been used in the regulations to describe the type of dangerous goods with respect to which they make provision, because this is the technical name by which this type of dangerous goods is known in other legislation, but it is to be appreciated that the term embraces, as well as fireworks in the generally accepted sense, frecrackers and other kinds of article containing the composition known as firework composition and also embraces Brework composition itself.
3. The regulations empower police officers, certain specified officers of the Mines Department, and other public officers authorized by the Commissioner of Mines, to take possession of stocks of firework and are directed particularly at stocks which are lawfully possessed y retailers or wholesalers either because they have a beence under the Dangerous Goods Ordinance or because the quantity in their possession does not exceed the exempted quantity of fifty pounds in weight. Any firework possessed by any person unlawfully has always been liable to seizure under the Dangerous Goods Ordinance. The power to take possession of Brework is discretionary, and I is not intended that the regulations should be used in respect of firework in the form of distress signals or similar equipment
4. Any firework of which possession is taken under these regula- tions will thereupon become the property of the Crown (regulation 4(1)). and a person whose lawful stock of firework is taken from him will be entitled to compensation (regulation 4(2) and (3)).
3.
Once possession is taken of firework in the possession of a person holding a licence under the Dangerous Goods Ordinance, the
licence is doomed to be revoked (regulation 5), and regulation X1) abrogates the existing exemption in favour of firework in quantities not exceeding fifty pounds in weight. Thus, the position will be as follows.
(0) Persons now licensed under the Dangerous Goods Ordinance to
store firework may continue to do so until possession is taken of their stocks. Their licences will then be deemed to be revoked, and section 6 of the Dangerous Goods Ordinance will prohibit their possessing or storing further stocks.
(5) The exemption in favour of quantities of manufactured fireworks not exceeding ifty pounds in weight is abrogated forthwith, but a person will not be guilty of an offence with respect to firework now in bis possession if he notifies immediately the Commissioner of Mines or the officer in charge of a police station (regulations 6(1) and T(2)).
6,
Regulation & Increases from six months to three years the max- imum term of imprisonment which may be imposed under the Dangerous Goods Ordinance on conviction for unlawful possession or storage of firework.
7. It is not intended that these regulations should affect the re- export trade in firework if the firework is brought to Hong Kong by sea and directly transhipped at a dangerous goods anchorage from the vessel in which it arrives to the vessel in which it is to be exported from Hong Kong. Regulation 3(1) provides accordingly.
(Secretariat SCR 30/3371/67)
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