TNAG-1362-FCO40-1808-Hong-Kong-Hansard-reports-and-minutes-of-the-meetings-of-the-1985 — Page 90

Sir,

Speech by the Hon. P.K.Y. Tsao, CPM, JP,

Secretary for Administrative Services

and Information in Legislative Council on Wednesday, 15 May 1985

Corrupt and Illegal Practices

(Amendment) Bill 1985

I move that the Corrupt and Illegal Practices (Amendment) Bill 1985 be read a second time.

This is a short but important Bill. It provides for the provisions of the principal Ordinance to be extended to apply to the elections to this Council, which are to be held in September, and represents another step in progressive development of the arrangements for these

elections.

The vast majority of the amendments proposed in the Bill are straightforward and call for no elaboration. However, perhaps I should say a few words on those set out in clause 7(a) and clause 8.

In 1984, section 16 of the principal Ordinance was amended to make it an offence for any person to make or publish a false statement of fact about a candidate, or for a candidate himself to do so. However, as the result of an oversight there was introduced at the time no penalty for contravention of these provisions.

/This omission

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