XN000022-1996-01-17 — Page 31

(a)

(b)

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how the police will step up measures to monitor and trace the source of prank calls; and

what penalties, if any, apply to callers dialling '999' to make prank or nuisance calls?

Reply:

Mr President,

End

(a)

(b)

Operators at the 999 Consoles in the Police Regional Command and Control Centres (RCCCs) can hold any incoming telephone call so that the caller can be traced through the exchange line. The Government is discussing with the telephone company with a view to introducing a new facility in the RCCCs that displays the telephone number from which an incoming call is made. If introduced, the facility will greatly speed up the process of locating the sources of emergency calls irrespective of prank or genuine ones.

A person who dial '999' to make prank or nuisance calls may commit the following offences:

E

the offence of making a false report to a police officer or misleading a police officer by giving false information, contrary to section 64 of the Police Force Ordinance, for which the offender may be liable to a fine of $1.000 and to imprisonment for six months;

the offence of causing wasteful employment of police by making a false report, contrary to section 91(2) of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, for which the offender may be liable to a fine of $2,000 and to imprisonment for six months; and/or

the offence of persistently making telephone calls without reasonable cause for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to any other person, contrary to section 20(c) of the Summary Offences Ordinance, for which the offender may be liable to a fine of $1,000 and to imprisonment for two months.

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