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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

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DR. BELL:-I would be grateful if you could, it's just that they refer to a new refuse chute being built here and that's why I wondered if it's still the policy to continue to build new refuse chutes.

MR. SALES: Is that policy decided by the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee, Mr. Chairman?

DR. BELL: Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, it's not decided by the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee, it seems to be decided, I think, by the Public Works Department in conjunction with the Resettlement Department in resettlement estates; possibly by the Building Committee of the Housing Authority in Housing Authority estates; by private builders in the multi-storey buildings throughout the Colony, also in conjunction with the Public Works Department I presume, and I think there's a very big difference of opinion on this as to whether these are satisfactory things to have in Hong Kong or That's why I was interested to know what the policy is-In the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee we have not been given the opportunity, under our terms of reference, to state more that what we feel about it but we haven't had anybody consulting us as to whether they should be built or should not be built.

not.

MR. SALES-Sir, the appointed members would like to protest in the strongest terms that the Chairman of the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee has not been consulted on such an important matter by the Government this is just another example of Government set- ting aside the expert opinion of Unofficial Members of the Council. (Laughter).

CHAIRMAN:-I shall look into the problem Dr. BELL.

(7) MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following questions:-

(a) Will the Commissioner for Resettlement advise whether there has been an increase in hooliganism and snatching in the Wong Tai Sin and Wang Tau Hom resettlement estates by teddy-boys or youngsters during the past few months?

(b) Is the Commissioner aware that this is a matter of much concern to families living within the estate? Is the Com- missioner for Resettlement in close liaison with the Authorities to take steps to curb such unlawful activity? (c) Is the Commissioner taking steps to work closely with the Kaifong Associations and other responsible groups in these estates to reduce the incidence of such activity in these estates?

(8) Can the Commissioner for Resettlement advise whether there has been any significant increase in teddy-boy activity and juvenile delinquency in the resettlement estates?

If so, could he indicate in which resettlement estates such activity has shown a marked increase during recent months? What steps had been taken to request police assistance and the assistance of voluntary bodies within these estates to curb such activity so as to give better protection to the lives and properties of residents in these estates?

THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-

With your permission I should like to take questions 7 and 8

together. No separate statistics are kept of crimes committed in partic- ular resettlement estates: there is however no indication that hooliganism and the activities of teddy-boys are worse in the estates than in any other parts of the urban areas.

There are however indications that there has been an increase in this kind of crime in the central Kowloon group of estates, of which the estates most affected are Wong Tai Sin and Tung Tau and, probably to a lesser extent, Wang Tau Hom. There has also been some increase in the oldest estates in western Kowloon while it is reported that such cases have decreased in the newer estates in eastern Kowloon. The estates in Hong Kong Island appear to be less troubled by these activities than those in Kowloon. The statistics kept for the Wong Tai Sin Police Division as a whole show that over the past 6 months there has been a slight overall increase in serious crimes as compared with the same period of the previous year. There has been an increase in robberies and snatchings but a decrease in the cases of common assault and demanding money with menaces. 40% of those prosecuted for serious crimes were under the age of 21 compared with 50% during the same period one year previously. The Police have increased the number of patrols in this area and they have effected a high proportion of arrests in these cases. In the past 2 months there has been some decline in overall crime, including robberies and serious assault, although there has been little change in the incidence of snatchings. The senior estate staff keep in close touch with the Police in these matters. Many officers in charge of estates hold regular monthly meetings with the Police and I hope to make this a regular practice for all estates. Close liaison is also maintained with the Kaifongs, which should become

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