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Ord. No. 55/86
REHABILITATION OF OFFENDERS
HONG KONG
No. 55 OF 1986
I assent.
Short title.
Protection of rehabilitated
individual.
(Cap. 237.) (Cap. 240.)
L.S.
David AKERS-JONES, Acting Governor. 31 July 1986
An Ordinance to rehabilitate offenders who have not been reconvicted for 3 years, to prevent unauthorized disclosure of their previous convictions and for connected purposes.
[1 August 1986]
Enacted by the Governor of Hong Kong, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof.
I. This Ordinance may be cited as the Rehabilitation of Offenders Ordinance 1986.
2.
(1) Where
(a) an individual has been convicted in Hong Kong (before or after the com- mencement of this Ordinance) of an offence in respect of which he was not sentenced to death, imprisonment or to a fine exceeding $5,000;
(b) he has not been convicted in Hong Kong on any earlier day of an offence; and (c) a period of 3 years has elapsed without that individual being again convicted
in Hong Kong of an offence,
then, for so long as that individual is not again convicted in Hong Kong of an offence-
(i) no evidence shall be admissible in any proceedings which tends to show that
that individual was so convicted in Hong Kong;
(ii) any question asked of that individual or any other person relating to, or any obligation imposed on that individual or any other person to disclose, that individual's previous convictions, offences, conduct or circumstances shall be treated as not referring to that conviction; and
(iii) that conviction, or any failure to disclose it shall not be a lawful or proper ground for dismissing or excluding that individual from any office, profes- sion, occupation or employment or for prejudicing him in any way in that office, profession, occupation or employment.
(2) The period of 3 years mentioned in subsection (1)(c) shall be reckoned from the date on which the individual was sentenced for the offence mentioned in subsection (1)(a), save that, in the case of an individual sentenced to detention in a training or detention centre, that period shall be reckoned from expiry of the period of supervision following release from that detention.
(3) The payment or recovery of a fixed penalty, or any additional penalty, under the Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance or the Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance is a conviction for the purposes of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) but not for the purposes of any other provision of that subsection.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph («) of subsection (1)—
(a) "imprisonment" does not include detention in a reformatory school, in a
detention centre, in a place of detention or in a training centre;
REHABILITATION OF OFFENDERS
Ord. No. 55/86
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(b) a sentence of imprisonment or a fine shall be such a sentence, whether or not
it is suspended or postponed:
(c) an individual is not sentenced to imprisonment where he is detained as a
consequence of failing to pay a fine;
(d) conviction of an offence in respect of which an individual is not sentenced to imprisonment or to a fine exceeding $5,000 includes convictions on the same day of more than one offence in respect of which he is not sentenced to imprisonment or to fines exceeding $5,000 in total; and
(e) "offence" does not include an offence of contravening section 20(2) or 24
of the Societies Ordinance or of contravening section 19, 20(1), 21, 22 or 23 (Cap. 151.) of that Ordinance in circumstances in which the unlawful society is, or is deemed to be, a Triad Society.
(5) For the purposes of this section and sections 3 and 4, "proceedings" means any proceedings in Hong Kong by any court, body or person having power to determine any application by, or any question affecting the rights, privileges, obligations or liabilities of, any person or to receive evidence affecting the determina- tion of any such application or question.
(6) For the purposes of paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of subsection (1) and section 3, a conviction shall include-
(a) the offence which was the subject of that conviction;
(b) the conduct or circumstances constituting that offence; and
(c) anything relating to that conviction which, if disclosed, would tend to show that the individual committed, was charged with, was prosecuted for, was convicted of or was sentenced for the offence which was the subject of the conviction.
3. (1) Nothing in section 2 shall affect-
(a) the recovery of any fine or other sum adjudged to be paid;
(b) any proceedings in respect of a breach of a condition or requirement
imposed following a conviction; or
(c) the operation of any law under which the individual is subject to any
disqualification, disability, prohibition or other penalty.
(2) Nothing in section 2 shall affect the determination of any issue, or prevent the admission or requirement of any evidence, relating to the conviction-
(a) in any proceedings relating to the interests of an infant;
(b) in any proceedings where the individual expressly consents to the admission
of evidence relating to the conviction; or
(c) in any proceedings where the tribunal is satisfied that justice cannot be done
except by the admission of evidence relating to the conviction.
(1) Section 2 shall not apply to—
4.
(a) proceedings in respect of a person's admission as, or disciplinary proceed- ings against a person practising as, a barrister, a solicitor or an accountant; (b) disciplinary proceedings against a person holding a prescribed public office; (c) proceedings relating to a person's suitability to be granted, or to continue to hold, any licence, permit or dispensation, or to be registered, or continue to be registered, under any law;
(d) proceedings relating to a person's suitability to be appointed to, or continue
in, any prescribed public office; and
(e) proceedings under the Insurance Companies Ordinance—
(i) relating to a person's suitability to be authorized as an insurer; or (ii) by the Insurance Authority in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 27 to 35 of that Ordinance.
Exceptions relating to proceedings.
Further exceptions.
(Cap. 41.)
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