ENG-1984 — Page 273

214

PUBLIC ORDER

A total of 35 538 people were arrested and prosecuted, compared with 34 773 in 1983. Adults prosecuted totalled 32 629 and juveniles (under 16 years) numbered 2909, an increase of 2.7 per cent and a decrease of 2.6 per cent respectively compared with the previous year.

Organised and Serious Crime

The early part of the year saw an unprecedented upsurge in organised and serious crimes, many of which entailed the use of firearms. A total of 304 robberies involving the use of real or imitation firearms were recorded; 48 of these were committed against goldsmith and jewellery shops, accounting for the loss of property valued at $65 million.

A total of 95 firearms were seized during police operations, and 97 persons were charged with various offences, including murder and armed robbery.

Commercial Crime

ІГ

Although there was a slight decrease in reports of fraud, compared with 1983, criminals used greater ingenuity and sophistication. For the police, this involved an increased commitment in manpower and time spent on complex investigations. The main areas of fraud were those involving banks, shipping of goods, letters of credit, and defrauding of third parties by consenting intermediaries. There was also an increase in requests for assistance from overseas law enforcement agencies. Changes in the Evidence Ordinance assisted in the detection and prosecution of commercial crime.

The Commercial Crime Bureau was also heavily committed to the complex task involved in the investigation into the activities of the collapsed Carrian Group of Companies. A number of persons were charged with conspiracy to defraud and warrants were issued for others who were no longer in Hong Kong.

Counterfeit currency continued to pose a problem, though not to the same extent as in 1983. Six persons were prosecuted for involvement in the distribution of counterfeit currency and action was taken against one syndicate engaged in counterfeiting coins.

Public Order

For the first time since 1967, police were called upon to deal with disturbances in Kowloon in the aftermath of a territory-wide demonstration by taxi operators protesting against proposed increases in registration fees.

The demonstration, which took the form of slow moving convoys and the blockage of main thoroughfares, disrupted traffic over a period of three days but remained peaceful, largely due to police adopting a temperate approach to the problem. On the third day, January 13, on the assurance that the level of fees would be given further consideration, drivers began to move their taxis and this in itself caused considerable traffic congestion.

In Nathan Road, Kowloon, some 5 000 persons, most of them young and some of them criminals, took advantage of the situation to set fires, to loot shops and go on the rampage. Police reacted quickly by the deployment of plainclothes and uniformed officers in strength, including three companies from the Police Tactical Unit, to deal with the disturbances which by then had spread.

Police action on the streets, backed by the unprecedented issue of stern warnings on all television and radio channels, resulted in order being restored in a matter of hours, Thirty-two people, including four police officers, were slightly injured and police made 178 arrests.