ENG-1998 — Page 352

PUBLIC ORDER

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Vulnerable Witnesses and Child Protection

The Child Protection Policy Unit continued to work on improvements in the areas of child protection and support for vulnerable witnesses. In 1998, the five Regional Child Abuse Investigation Units took up 148 child abuse cases (115 sexual abuse and 33 physical abuse) for investigation. They also assisted other Crime Investigation Teams in dealing with 156 cases (102 sexual abuse and 54 physical abuse) involving child victims and witnesses.

The force now maintains five video-recorded interview suites which are child- friendly and based in non-police premises. They are equipped with advanced video- recording facilities and modern medical equipment to facilitate forensic examination of victims in sexual abuse cases. A total of 178 video-recorded interviews (137 for sexual abuse and 41 for physical abuse) were conducted by trained officers.

The 'Witness Support Programme', which started in November 1996, continued to work well. Trained non-government volunteers and family aides of the Social Welfare Department played a significant role in helping child and mentally handicapped witnesses to give evidence in court. In 1998, more than 50 witnesses received the service.

The unit maintained close liaison with overseas law enforcement agencies in combating commercial sexual exploitation of children. In May, an officer from the unit took part in the 'Interpol Standing Working Party on Offences Against Minors' held in France. In November, an officer attended advanced training in Australia, followed by an attachment to a local investigation team.

Since its connection to the Internet in April 1997, the unit has monitored developments and trends in distributing child pornography through the use of computers. Enforcement action was taken against six such cases (50 per cent involved the use of computers). In order to better protect children of Hong Kong and other countries, new legislation is being formulated to strengthen the existing control over child pornography and tackle child-sex tourism.

Commercial Crime

The Commercial Crime Bureau experienced a major upturn in reported fraud cases amid the Asian financial crisis. Several brokerage firms collapsed during the year and some high-profile company fraud by company directors surfaced.

Long-term investigations undertaken by the bureau's task force saw two major fraud cases involving public companies come to fruition, including the extradition of a suspect from Australia. Another long-term, high-profile case saw the conviction of a company director who was a Legislative Councillor.

Fraud by West African crime syndicates continued, with particular enforcement emphasis being placed by the bureau on 'black money scams' resulting in arrests and convictions.

The bureau continued to combat the insidious nature of counterfeit currency. Arrests and the neutralisation of some distribution networks in Hong Kong led to a fall in the number of counterfeit notes circulating in the economy. The use of counterfeit credit cards in Hong Kong remained at an all-time low.