ENG-1977 — Page 189

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PUBLIC ORDER

As a result of the opening of the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre, the Victoria Recep- tion Centre has reverted to a medium security prison to cater for minor offenders serving sentences of less than 18 months.

Ma Po Ping Prison, built on Lantau Island in 1967, is being converted into a medium security prison. The majority of the 575 inmates are employed inside the prison on metal-work, carpentry, tailoring, laundry, fibreglass moulding and making rattan furniture. Outside working parties are largely engaged in projects designed to benefit the local community.

Three minimum security prisons provide accommodation for a total of 1,346 prisoners. Chi Ma Wan Prison, on Lantau Island, caters mainly for first offenders serving sentences of less than three years. The prisoners are employed on constructive projects, such as afforestation, reclamation, drainage, building and road works. Two other similar institutions are Pik Uk, in the New Territories, and Ma Hang, situated about one mile from Stanley Prison. Pik Uk was opened in 1975 and mainly accom- modates recidivists serving sentences of less than 18 months. Ma Hang features a geriatric wing for prisoners serving terms of less than three years and also caters for prisoners who have less than 18 months to serve. These prisoners mainly carry out general maintenance work at Ma Hang and outside Stanley Prison.

Female offenders, apart from those held at Siu Lam, are accommodated at the Tai Lam Centre for Women. It serves as a conventional prison for remand and convicted prisoners, and also has separate sections providing a training centre for young female offenders in the 14 to 21 age group and a treatment centre for female drug dependants. The Chatham Road Centre in Kowloon is mainly for offenders remanded by the courts on minor charges. It is a medium security institution that has a small section catering for prisoners under 21 with less than a year to serve. The centre also houses a geriatric unit.

Training Centres

The Pik Uk Correctional Institution, a maximum security facility in the New Terri- tories that became operational in January, 1976, has continued to play an important role in housing the more intractable delinquents aged between 14 and 21. The institu- tion, which serves as both a prison and a training centre, can accommodate 385 youngsters. It also caters for young prisoners on remand and those remanded by the courts for a report on their suitability for sentencing to a training or detention centre. Two other training centres are located on Hong Kong Island. The centre at Cape Collinson caters mainly for the 17 to 21 age group while that at Tai Tam Gap accom- modates those aged between 14 and 17. Both centres are run on highly-disciplined lines and operate on a half-day school and half-day work basis. Inmates are taught a wide range of skills, from tailoring and carpentry to building maintenance, metal work and panel beating. Those committed to training centres serve sentences ranging from a minimum of six months up to a maximum of three years. No inmate is released until he has a job to go to or arrangements have been made for him to further his education. Release is followed by three years' compulsory supervision.

Detention Centre

The Sha Tsui Detention Centre, on Lantau Island, provides the courts with yet another alternative to imprisoning young offenders aged between 14 and 21. The centre is