XN000022-1996-01-17 — Page 4

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"Secondly, the courts in Hong Kong shall be able to exercise the same additional disposal options available in the United Kingdom, namely, guardianship orders, supervision and treatment orders, and orders for absolute discharge, and these disposal options shall be extended to the magistracy," he said.

At present, under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, a defendant found unfit to plead in court or not guilty by reason of insanity is sent fo the Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre or a mental hospital for indefinite detention.

The spokesman said there was currently no requirement for the court to test the case against an accused person found unfit to plead, and therefore, it would be possible that an innocent person could be detained in a mental hospital indefinitely because the person suffered from mental disability and was unfit to plead.

"Indefinite detention in the Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre or a mental hospital may happen no matter how minor the alleged offence is or how harmless the accused person may be," the spokesman said.

"The period of detention may greatly exceed the maximum sentence for the offence in question. This situation may also arise in cases handled by the magistracy," he said.

The spokesman explained that although a magistrate had no jurisdiction to make a finding of unfitness to plead or of not guilty by reason of insanity, he had discretion under the Mental Health Ordinance to make an order to detain an accused person in the Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre or a mental hospital.

"At the moment, a magistrate's options are limited. He can make such an order if he is satisfied that the accused person did the act or made the omission charged, and is suffering from mental disorder which warrants the detention, in respect of an offence punishable on summary conviction by imprisonment," he said.

These two Bills will significantly improve the range of options available, to provide a sensible variety of ways to deal with defendants who are mentally disordered.

31.

The Bills are expected to be introduced into the Legislative Council on January

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