TNAG-0263-FCO40-299-Problem-of-increase-in-crime-rate-in-Hong-Kong-1971 — Page 17

Confidential

We ment Play this the v. carefully.

A.R.

3.

have not been repealed and, as the Governor has pointed out, it would be possible to use them again should this be considered

desirable.

In their present form the Regulations apply only to aliens. However, we have recently received from the Attorney General, Hong Kong, the draft of a very long Immigration and

Deportation Bill which is designed, inter alia,

(a)

(6)

* HK Depo tell me

9.

This is now being

to incorporate the provisions of the Emergency (Deportation and Detention) Regulations into the

permanent law of the Colony (since the disturbances of 1967 a number of provisions of the of the emergency legislation, introduced to deal with the disturbances, have been incorporated into the permanent law);

to provide in certain circumstances for the deportation

of British subjects.

This Bill will require very careful scrutiny here since

its provisions could well raise political difficulties and its

cotinday frommand pursued enactment could easily lend emphasis to Hong Kong's image as a

Wandy Gli

Yes

Mu

Police state. For these reasons it would be advisable to

reserve comment on this particular matter until our examination of the Bill has been completed.

Corporal Punishment (para.ll of the Governor's letter)

10.

Sentences of corporal punishment imposed by order of

the Court in Hong Kong during the past six years are shown in

Annex B.

11.

Powers to sentence offenders to corporal punishment for

certain specified offences are provided under the Hong Kong Corporal Punishment Ordinance and under the Magistrates

Ordinance.

12.

The punishment has to be administered in a prison.

Hong Kong therefore already has the necessary powers to award corporal punishment and it would appear to be up to the Courts to determine the extent to which those powers should be

used. The Governor is clearly hoping that the result of the recent case, which he mentions, in which a sentence of caning was upheld on appeal, will encourage the Courts to be more ready than hitherto to impose this form of punishment. There seems

/no reason

Confidential