CO129-469 - Governor Sir Stubbs - 1921 [9-12] — Page 87

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The object of section 4 is to prevent the smuggling of

As the law stands at present

4

tobacco into the Colony by rail.

it is possible for persons to bring tobacco into the Colony by

rail from Chinese territory, and to evade detection by alighting

with the tobacco at any of the stations before the Fowloon terminus.

As long as they remain on the train and do not remove the tobacCO

from the train, they are within the law and cannot be arrested,

and detection at intermediate stations is difficult. Section 4

requires all tobacco imported by the railway to be consigned through

to Kowloon by railway invoice, and any persons found on the train

in possession oft bacco not so consigned will be liable to arrest

and prosecution.

5. Section 5 gives certain Railway officials the same powers

under the Ordinance as are given to revenue officers, the object

being to enable arrests and seizures to be made on the train by

Railway officials.

6. Section 6 effects two formal amendments in Rection 41 of the

principal-Grdance Ordinance.

7.

Section 7 amends section 59 of the principal Ordinance, which

is the general penalty section, by empowering a magistrate to im-

pose a fine of ten times the duty on the tobacco in question,

instead of the fine authorised by section 59, whenever he is of the

pinion that there has been an intent to avoid payment of duty.

There have recently been cases of smuggling tobacco which have ob- viously required a pecuniary penalty treater than that authorised

by the principal Ordinance, and it has been thought advisable to

give the magistrate the option of imposing a fine of ten times the

duty, where auch will be greater than the present maximum fine.

The power of the magistrate to inflict imprisonment in lieu of or

in addition to any fine remaina unaltered.