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Following is a question by the Hon James To and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, in the Legislative Council today (June 8):
Question:
Regarding statistics on Mainland visitors committing crimes in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of Mainland visitors who were arrested and prosecuted in the past five years for offences allegedly committed by them in Hong Kong, with a breakdown by offence;
(2) of the number of Mainland visitors who were sentenced to imprisonment in the past five years, with a tabulated breakdown by length of sentence imposed on them (namely (i) one year or below, (ii) more than one year to three years, (iii) more than three years to ten years, and (iv) more than ten years);
(3) of the number of Mainland visitors absconded in the past five years; the measures the Police have in place to make those people return to Hong Kong for investigation or trials, and whether they have sought assistance from the Mainland departments in respect of such cases; if they have, of the procedure; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) whether the particulars of absconding Mainland visitors will be put on the watchlist of the immigration control system; if so, of the latest number of persons on the watchlist; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to Hon James To's question is as follows:
(1) Figures of Mainland visitors arrested and prosecuted for criminal offences in the past five years are at Annex 1 and Annex 2 respectively.
(2) Figures of Mainland visitors imprisoned and their respective length of sentence in the past five years are at Annex 3.
(3) and (4) The Police would, in the light of the circumstances of each case, locate the suspects at large through different channels and then apprehend them. In case there is any intelligence or information indicating that the suspects have fled Hong Kong, the Police shall seek other jurisdictions' assistance under the INTERPOL's mode of international police co-operation.
Immigration control officers (ICOs) all along conduct immigration clearance for visitors according to the law and procedures in a stringent manner. Law enforcement agencies would pass information of wanted persons or persons prohibited from leaving Hong Kong by court order to the Immigration Department (ImmD). If such persons go through immigration clearance at immigration control points, ICOs will intercept them and inform the Police immediately for on-scene follow-up.
The Police and the ImmD do not have the statistical figures referred to in the question.
Ends/Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Issued at HKT 14:33
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