213301-1934-Supplementary-Draft-Bills--Evidence-Amendment-Estate-Duty-Amendment-Liquors-Amendment — Page 1

824

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Draft Bills.

No. S. 328. -The following bills are published for general information :-

Short title.

New section 3A for Ordinance No. 2 of 1889.

Evidence

of child

of tender

years.

8 Edw. 7,

c. 67, s. 30.

Ordinance No. 41 of 1932.

Ordinance

No. 1 of 1932.

Repeal of Ordinance

No. 4 of 1897, s. 7 (3).

A BILL

INTITULED

[No. 31-16.8.34.-1.1

An Ordinance to amend the Evidence Ordinance, 1889.

Be it enacted by the Governor of Hong Kong, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:-

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Evidence Amend- ment Ordinance, 1934.

2. The Evidence Ordinance, 1889, is amended by the insertion of the following new section after section 3 thereof :-

3A. Where, in any proceeding against any person for an offence, any child of tender years who is tendered as a witness does not in the opinion of the court understand the nature of an oath, the evidence of that child may be received, though not given upon oath, if, in the opinion of the court, the child is possessed of sufficient intelligence to justify the reception of the evidence, and understands the duty of speaking the truth; and the provisions of section 29 of this Ordinance shall extend to the evidence of the child, though not given on oath, but otherwise taken and reduced into writing in accordance with the provisions of section 75 of the Magistrates Ordinance, 1932:

Provided that

(a) No person shall be liable to be convicted of the offence unless the testimony admitted by virtue of this section and given on behalf of the prosecution is corroborated by some other material evidence in support thereof implicating the accused; and

(b) Any child, whose evidence is received as aforesaid and who wilfully gives false evidence under such circumstances that, if the evidence had been given on oath, he would have been guilty of perjury, shall, subject to the provisions of the Juvenile Offenders Ordinance, 1932, be liable on summary conviction to such punishment as might have been awarded had he been charged with perjury and the case been dealt with summarily under section 7 of that Ordinance.

3. Sub-section (3) of section 7 of the Protection of Women and Girls Ordinance, 1897, is repealed.