good advice and to provide help when possible. In some cases introductions are given to the Social Welfare Office or to one of the voluntary agencies doing welfare work amongst this section of the community. The staff are also now well versed in the tricks of those who do not deserve sympathy. Some of these impostors are persons not resident in the squatter area being cleared, others may be resident but may not have such large families as they claim. It is indeed not unknown for a family to borrow temporarily the children of other families just before the screeners are due to arrive at their hut in order to get additional space in a resettlement area or estate.
119. During the year under review the screeners of the Section have registered a total of 81,969 persons for resettle- ment. Rather more than one quarter of these were fire victims, the rest being persons resident in squatter areas scheduled for clearance.
120. The payment of er gratia compensation to cultivators is another of the responsibilities of the Screening Section and during the year a total of $84,145 was paid to 150 cultivators who were occupying about 16 acres of land which was required for permanent development.
CHAPTER X
THE SQUATTER CONTROL SECTION
121. The Squatter Control Section's main responsibility is the prevention of new squatting. For this purpose there are 22 patrols each consisting of one Overseer and 5 or 6 patrolmen. Supervision and control of the work of the Squatter Patrols is carried out by three Land Bailiffs, two in Kowloon and one in Hong Kong. The whole Section is under the command of an Executive Officer.
122. The seven Hong Kong Patrols cover the whole of Hong Kong Island while the 14 Patrols on the mainland cover not only the whole of Kowloon but also an irregular strip of country about one mile in depth and 16 miles in length extending from the 10th milestone on the Castle Peak Road to Lyemun.
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