G.F. 323 0003230
1
CONFIDENTIAL ** 機密
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sentences are becoming more severe. Nevertheless, despite the serious view the Legislature takes of divan keeping as illustrated by the maximum penalty provided for conviction of indictment (15 years and HK$100,000), no case has ever been taken before the Supreme Court so far as can be ascertained, and only one case before the District Court when the defendant had other charges against him in addition to 'keeping a divan'.
13.
In 1972 there were 1,350 cases of trafficking taken under Section 7. The accused were mostly heroin
peddlers at street level, many of whom were addicts themselves,
and, if convicted, were sent to prison for periods from 6
to
12 months in most cases, dependent upon the amount of heroin seized in any particular instance.
14.
The judicial attitude to these people in many instances appears to be that because they are not the real financiers and organisers of the business reaping the profits, but simply underlings earning a mere pittance for what they are doing, they do not merit rigorous punishment.
(c) Possession and Consumption.
15.
The main bulk of offences are those which involve simple possession of either opium or heroin, or consuming one or other of these drugs. There were 9,052 such opium cases during 1972 and 6,790 heroin. Those involved are the victims of the illicit drug trade. The opium offences usually attract a nominal fine on conviction, less than HK$100, while for heroin the penalty is generally a small fine for a first and second conviction with a custodial sentence thereafter. The latter may be linked to detention in an Addiction Treatment Centre at Tai Lam or Ma Po Ping
in suitable cases.
CONFIDENTIAL
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