XN000022-1984-11-21 — Page 9

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1984

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HE EXPLAINED THIS WAS THE REASON FOR THE ONE-YEAR EXTENSION TILL THE END OF NEXT YEAR WHEN THE POSITION WOULD BE FURTHER REVIEWED.

FOR THE SAME REASON, PROVISIONS TO COUNTER LARGE NUMBERS OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES ARRIVING IN HONG KONG WERE EXTENDED TODAY FOR ANOTHER YEAR TO THE END OF 1985.

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THESE PROVISIONS SECTIONS 34A, 34B AND 34C OF THE MERCHANT SHIPPING ORDINANCE WERE ENACTED IN JANUARY 1979 TO PROVIDE FOR THE FORFEITURE OF A VESSEL IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES INVOLVING THE CARRIAGE OF EXCESS PASSENGERS.

27 000 PERSONS RECORDED MISSING IN FIVE YEARS

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THERE WERE A TOTAL OF 27 081 RECORDED MISSING PERSONS OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, FROM JANUARY 1979 TO SEPTEMBER 1984, THE SECRETARY FOR SECURITY, THE HON DAVID JEAFFRESON, TOLD THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY.

OF THIS NUMBER, 5 662 OR 21 PER CENT WERE MALE TEENAGERS, AGED BETWEEN 11 AND 20, AND 10 459 OR 39 PER CENT WERE FEMALE TEENAGERS, MR JEAFFRESÓN SAID, IN REPLY TO QUESTIONS FROM THE HON CARL TONG.

OVER THIS PERIOD, 94.4 PER CENT OF ALL MISSING TEENAGERS AND 94.3 PER CENT OF MISSING TEENAGE GIRLS HAD BEEN RECOVERED.

+THESE OVERALL FIGURES HIDE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT FROM 81.7 PER CENT FOR ALL TEENAGERS IN 1979 TO 98.6 PER CENT IN 1984 SO FAR,+ HE SAID.

HE ADDED THAT IN THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, MORE MALE TEENAGERS HAD BEEN FOUND THAN REPORTED MISSING.

ACCORDING TO THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT, THE CAUSES STEMMED FROM A MIXTURE OF FACTORS, OF WHICH THE MOST COMMON WERE FAILURE. AT SCHOOL AND AN UNSTABLE OR UNCARING FAMILY BACKGROUND.

THE GREAT MAJORITY OF THOSE MISSING HAD BEEN FOUND STAYING WITH FRIENDS OR HAD RETURNED HOME OF THEIR OWN ACCORD.

+FEW CASES INVOLVE ANYTHING MORE SINISTER OR CRIMINAL. TEENAGERS ARE VULNERABLE TO BEING LURED INTO CRIME IF THEY HAVE PROBLEMS.

+ BUT ALTHOUGH GETTING INVOLVED IN CRIME MIGHT BE A RESULT OF RUNNING AWAY FROM HOME, IT SEEMS TO BE RARELY A CAUSE,+ HE SAID.

/FEMALE TEENAGERS