XN000022-1996-11-27 — Page 16

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Post-Release Supervision of Prisoners Regulation amended

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Security, Mr Peter Lai, in moving a motion to amend the Post-Release Supervision of Prisoners Regulation in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Mr President,

I move the motion standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Post-Release Supervision of Prisoners Ordinance establishes a Post- Release Supervision Scheme to help discharged prisoners reintegrate into society as law-abiding citizens, by providing them with guidance and supervision after release. The Post-Release Supervision of Prisoners Regulation sets out in its Schedule 1 the sentences in respect of which the Ordinance applies. Schedule 1 covers selected types of serious offences, such as triad-related offences, sexual offences and crimes of violence. Prisoners who have committed these offences tend to have a greater need for guidance and supervision in their efforts to reintegrate into society. The Fight Crime Committee has been consulted on the Scheme and the offences endorsed by the Committee have been included in Schedule 1 to the Regulation.

However, the House Committee has expressed concern that five offences which are related to some of the offences in Schedule 1 should also be included, and one offence, which attracts a maximum sentence below the condition set out in the Regulation, should be deleted from Schedule 1. To address this concern, we propose to amend Schedule 1 as the House Committee suggested. Let me, however, assure Honourable Members that the coverage of the offences in Schedule 1 will be reviewed at a later stage, in the light of experience in the operation of the Scheme.

Mr President, I beg to move.

End