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Don't drop hanging, says judge
HONGKONG'S new judicial knight, Supreme Court judge Sir Alastair Blair- Kerr, wants hanging retained and a tougher line taken with young offenders.
Sir Alastair revealed his attitude on tougher treatment for violent criminals yesterday, soon after the announcement of his knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
The judge, who has spent 27 years on the judicial benches in Hongkong, said despite the mounting anti-hanging opinion, throughout the world, now was not the time to remove the death penalty from Hongkong's statute books.
"As a judge I have never considered my role to be a law reformer, but I would be in favour of retaining capital punishment here because of the increasing lawicosness and violent crime,” he said.
"We have had some pretty tough times here during my 27 years in the Colony and there are some vicious criminals around.”
Sir Alastair claimed that he did not hold any strong views on hanging, out stressed that 99 per cent of the Chase community in Hongkong felt' capital punishment should be retained. "I certainly accept their views," he
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The judge's'stance on a tougher line against young offenders came soon after the call by the former Chief Justice, Sir Ivo Rigby, for lighter sentences and greater use of detention centres, instead of prison, for first offenders.
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Sir Alastair criticised the courts for being too lenient with young law-breakers and said the main target for sterner treatment should be young people convicted of armed robbery and drug offenders - particularly drug pushers and manufacturers.
"The courts should really hit them hard,” he said.
Sir Alastair added: "These are people who are a menace to the public. They must be kept out of harm's way for a considerable time, not only to protect the public but as a deterrent to others."
The judge expressed some support for Sir Ivo's detention centre treatment of first offenders.
"A jolly good does of the old Army cooler might do them good," he said.
But he added: "Once the offender has had his chance and has got a couple of convictions behind him, the idea of binding him over or giving him a few months' sentence is a complete waste of time.
"He should go to prison for a considerable period."
Sir Alastair Blair-Kerr
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Sir Alastair talked of the danger of "blindly following" the English concept of young offender treatment.
"U.K. laws prevent anyone under 21 going to prison. Here the trouble is that even some of the worst offences of robbery and murder are committed by people in their late teens or early 20s,” he said.
The cause, he suggested, was the breakdown of traditional Chinese family disciplines, growing affluence and the permissive society.
"Prison is not always the answer and can often be regarded as a poor way of dealing with the problem - but it is one of the main weapons we have."
The newly-knighted judge also had some j strong views on the controversial reprieve off convicted killer, Tsoi Kwok-cheong. He said the British Government decision placed the Governor here in an "impossible situation."
"The interference from London was really quite intolerable,” Sir Alastair added. "Things can't be allowed to go on like this.
"As long as the death penalty remains on the statue books, the law must be enforced in appropriate cases – otherwise the law becomes a laughing stock. What is happening now is that everybody has been so influenced by Britain's abolition of the death penalty that they, are regarding each convicted murderer as a candidate for automatic reprieve.”
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