ENG-2001 — Page 395

PUBLIC ORDER

695 118 tickets for parking offences, representing a decrease of 17.1 per cent. Traffic summonses issued to offenders decreased by 5.5 per cent.

Police Licensing Office

Since the enactment of the Security and Guarding Services Ordinance in December 1994 to replace the Watchman Ordinance, and its full operation on June 1, 1996, some 200 000 Security Personnel Permits have been issued. A Security Personnel Permit is valid for five years. Since 1996, over 20 000 Security Personnel Permits have been renewed, and some 1600 revoked upon the holders' conviction of specified offences. The phased programme to replace Watchman's Permit commenced in May 1997. The last phase of the programme began in September and will be completed by the end of April 2002 when all Watchman's Permits will be cancelled or replaced by Security Personnel Permits.

The Firearms and Ammunition (Amendment) Ordinance 2000 became fully operational in November. The amendments significantly enhance the standard of firearms instruction, management of shooting ranges and maintenance of public safety. While imposing effective control on individuals who may have access to arms and ammunition, the amended ordinance also facilitates the legitimate possession and transhipment of arms and ammunition.

With a view to improving the regulatory mechanism concerning vice activities in massage establishments and to minimise any resultant inconvenience for legitimate operators, most of the service improvements recommended by a consultancy study have been implemented. In addition, the Massage Establishments (Amendment) Bill was passed by the Legislative Council on November 14. Under this, massage establishments which do not provide full body massage to customers by persons of the opposite sex would no longer be required to obtain a massage establishment licence for their operation.

On February 7, a bill aimed at, among other things, tightening up control of activities in karaoke establishments was introduced into the Legislative Council.

Marine Region

Despite a general decrease in the number of illegal immigrants (IIs) found in Hong Kong during the past two years, their interception in the waters of Hong Kong remained a top priority for the Marine Region. A total of 717 Mainland IIs and 16 Vietnamese IIs were arrested by Marine Police officers in 2001. Some syndicates employed high-powered speedboats and Mainland Trading Vessels (MTVs) to convey female Ils from the Mainland to Hong Kong for the purpose of prostitution. Heightened enforcement action at various II landing sites, and increased checks on vessels, yielded fruitful results.

MTVs entering the HKSAR to buy low-tax diesel fuel continued to be a problem. However, through the sustained efforts of the Anti-Smuggling Task Force, working in conjunction with the Customs and Excise Department, the problem was contained and there was a reduction in criminal activities connected to MTVs such as extortion, robbery and criminal damage. At the same time, smuggling by speedboats decreased significantly after several smuggling syndicates were neutralised. Pre-emptive operations against smugglers led to the seizure of contraband goods valued at $38 million and the apprehension of 156 persons.

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