CONFIDENTIAL
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A second expedient which is already the subject of much public comment and support would be resort to a greater use of corporal punishment.
Whatever may
be the case in Western communities there is no doubt at all that in Hong Kong there is still a strong body of opinion which favours the use of the cane as an appropriate punitive and deterrent measure. It is, of course, very much a traditional Chinese form of punishment, and memories of acceptance for it linger. Many people believe that those of the young who resort to violence are best dealt with by the application of corporal punishment, and that it is a much more credible deterrent than imprisonment or other forms of physical restraint. A caning sentence of a 19 year old youth convicted of robbery with aggravation has recently been upheld in the Appeal Court, and there are grounds for thinking that other courts will be more ready than has previously been the case to
impose this form of sentence, when sufficiently impressed with the seriousness of the offence.
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There is, indeed, a tendency for the Courts to be criticised for inadequate sentencing, and undoubtedly sentencing practice varies. It may be the case that some courts take an unduly lenient view, but others certainly do not. For example, three adults out of every four prosecuted by the Triad Society Bureau were imprisoned in 1968, while in 1970 so far the comparable figure is five out of every six. But, in response to this view, one school of thought suggests that the time may have come to introduce legislation the effect of which would be to make mandatory a minimum sentence involving imprisonment for certain classes of offence for example being found in possession of an offensive weapon at the time of committing an offence involving violence. The Chief Justice on the other hand has publicly suggested the establishment of detention centres similar to those introduced in Britain some years ago as a means of quickly and sharply bringing a young miscreant into a more amenable attitude towards society. Both these expedients will have to be considered, although there are well-known objections to the first and I am not certain how effective the detention centres in Britain are thought to have been. Some information on
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