TNAG-0118-FCO40-154-Disturbances-1967-1968-1969 — Page 147

APPENDIX V-Contd.

7. The Emergency (Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance) (Amendment) Regulations 1967, enacted on 21st July, amended the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance to provide that a person having the right to dispose of a dead body must not only make a claim to do so within forty-eight hours of the body being received into a mortuary, but must also remove the dead body within forty-eight hours of making the claim. This legislation enabled the Urban Services Department to carry out the burials of dead bodies which were unclaimed or for which no arrangements for burial had been made by the next-of-kin.

8. The Emergency (Principal) (Amendment) Regulations, introduced on 22nd July, were designed:

(a) to give Police officers power to enter and search premises without warrant where they suspected that arms, offensive weapons or explosives are held -regulation 41;

(b) to make it an offence to frequent or be found in such premises-regulation 119A. (A person charged with this offence had a good defence if he could show that he did not know that the weapons, etc. were on the premises.); (c) to make it an offence to be in premises access to which is barred to Police

officers-regulation 119B;

(d) to make it an offence to be in unlawful possession of corrosive substances,

acids, etc.—regulation 119C;

(e) to make it an offence to consort with persons possessing offensive weapons

intending to use them unlawfully-regulations 118 and 119;

(f) to fill a gap in the present public order legislation in authorizing the use of such force as may be necessary to implement these regulations (regulation 100A). (Regulation 100B sets out the common law principle that the degree of force used should not be more than is necessary to achieve the objective.)

9. The Emergency (Principal) Regulations (Commencement) (No. 3) Order, enacted on 28th July, brought into force regulations 29(1), 30 and 31, concerning detention by the Colonial Secretary. These regulations enabled action to be taken against persons who stimulated or encouraged acts of violence and lawlessness but did not themselves take any part in these acts.

10. The Emergency (Principal) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, brought into force on 1st August, enabled the District Court to impose heavier sentences than its normal jurisdiction allowed in respect of a limited number of offences against the Emergency (Principal) Regulations. The maximum penalty for offences against the majority of these regulations, set out in regulation 136 was 5 years/$10,000 on indict- ment, these penalties being within the normal sentencing powers of the District Court. However, regulations 117 and 118 dealing with unlawful possession of arms, offensive weapons, explosives, etc. had as befits the seriousness of those offences a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. This penalty could normally be imposed only by the Supreme Court. Since it was regarded as important that persons arrested in con- nection with arms and explosives offences should be brought before a Court as quickly as possible, the District Courts were also given powers to impose sentences of up to 10 years imprisonment for such offences. By virtue of the Emergency (Legal Aid Criminal Cases) (District Court) Regulations, brought into force on 1st September free legal aid was made available to persons charged with such offences who were brought before the District Courts.

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