CO129-524-9 Opium Amendment Ordinance 1930 23-1-1930 - 11-8-1930 — Page 17

4. It was suggested that although dealing in raw opium

was illegal generally yet the prohibitions of section 4

of the Opium Ordinance, 1923, as enacted by section 2 of

the Opium Amendment Ordinance, 1924, would not apply if

it could be shown that there was no intention that the

opium in question should ever be imported into the Colony.

Section 4 of this Ordinance introduces words which are

intended to meet that possible defence.

5.

Section 17 of the Opium Ordinance, 1923, made

illegal the possession of any Government label or wrapper

which had been or had become detached from the opium

receptacle to which it was attached when issued by the

Superintendent. In a prosecution under this section it

would usually be impossible to prove that the detached

label or wrapper had ever been attached to a receptacle

issued by the Superintendent, except by relying on a

general statement that in practice no label or wrapper is

issued except attached to a receptacle.

Section 5 of

this Ordinance repeals section 17 of the principal Ordinance

and substitutes a new section.

Sub-section (1) of the

new section meets the point above referred to by making

illegal the possession of any label or wrapper of a kind

used by the Superintendent unless such label or wrapper

is attached to some receptacle which was issued by the

Superintendent.

6.

Sub-section (2) of the new section 17 deals with

another point. It would be possible to remove the label

from a Government opium receptacle without damaging the

label and to use it again on another receptacle containing

non-Government opium.

It is true that the possession of

18