XN000022-1972-06-30 — Page 11

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Friday, June 30, 1972

All the offences under the bill will be triable by a magistrate,

though if the facts of any offence warrant, a charge under the bill may be

tried either by the Supreme Court or the District Court.

The bill also gives power to any court to order a person convicted of

an offence to pay compensation to a person who suffers personal injury or los6

of or damage to his property, or both, as a result of the offence. There is no

limit placed in the case of the Supreme Court or the District Court, but a

magistrate may award compensation only up to $5,000. Similar powers already

exist, though the present maximum which can be awarded by a magistrate is only

$500.

The bill repeals and replaces the Malicious Damage Ordinance and the

provisions relating to criminal damage to property in the various other Ordinances

listed in the Schedule to the Bill. The common law offence of arson is abolished

and replaced by the statutory offence in the bill,

The bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council on July 5.

However, it will not be brought into operation until a date to be appointed by

the Governor by notice in the gazette, The Government intends that there should

be an interval of about 3 months between its enactment and its coming into

operation to enable the courts, the police and the legal practitioners to

familiarise themselves with the changes in the law made by the bill.

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