TNAG-1726-FCO40-2439-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 219

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MR. HUI : Sir, refugees in open camps enjoy

camps enjoy freedom of

movement and freedom to work and live under similar

conditions as ordinary citizens of Hong Kong. What are

reasons for the relatively higher crime

the exceptional

rate?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY : Sir, the exact reasons for the

relatively higher crime rate are not known but

but possibly

the offenders' prolonged stay in a refugee camp is a major

contributory factor. There is also the fact of a reducing

overall population and a probably more

more static population

of the criminally inclined. But I should say that

comparison is difficult because

are trying to compare

one abnormal group of 2,900 people with a population of

5.6 million, or, to put it another way, the 422 offenders

who came from the open camp at Kai Tak in 1987 over the

age of seven years, with the 84,128

population as a whole.

offenders for the

DR. HO:

Will Government

consider other forms of

punishment or sanctions on the Vietnamese refugees for

their criminal offences in order not to affect their

resettlement prospects?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY : Yes, Sir, the Government is

keeping these matters under constant review.