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Following is a question by the Hon Audrey Eu and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, in the Legislative Council today (May 10):
Question:
Regarding child and juvenile delinquency in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of juveniles aged between 10 and 14 who were arrested, prosecuted and convicted since 2002, together with a breakdown by their age (in five age groups) and the category of offences allegedly committed by them;
(b) of the details of the additional support services provided by the authorities to enable the rehabilitation of unruly children below the age of 10 after the minimum age of criminal liability has been raised to 10; and
(c) whether the authorities plan to raise the minimum age of criminal liability to 12 or 14 years of age; if they have, of the details and the timetable of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The number of juveniles aged between 10 and 14 who were arrested, prosecuted and convicted, with breakdown by their age (in five age groups) and the category of offences allegedly committed, in 2002 to 2005 is set out at Annex.
(b) Since raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from seven to 10 in July 2003, the Government has enhanced the support measures for unruly children below the age of 10. The details are as follows:
(i) Extension of the service of the Juvenile Protection Section (JPS) aftercare service to unruly children below the age of 10
The JPS of the Police arranges visits to the residence of juveniles who have been cautioned under the Police Superintendents' Discretion Scheme. The purpose of the visits is to ensure that the juveniles under caution do not lapse into crime or become associated with undesirable characters again. If juveniles in this category are deemed to be in need of support services, the Police will, with parental consent, refer them to the Social Welfare Department (SWD). Under special circumstances, non-consensual referral of the information on these juveniles' to SWD may also be made for follow up. Such referral mechanism has been extended to children below the age of 10 since September 2004.
(ii) Enhanced referral mechanism between the Police and SWD/Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB)
From July 1, 2003, the Police have enhanced their referral mechanism with SWD/EMB for unruly children and juveniles. Under this mechanism, District Social Welfare Officers (DSWOs) of SWD and inspectors of the Non-attendance Cases Team and the Education Psychology Service (Professional Support) Section of EMB act as contact point at the district level to take up police referrals that require direct and prompt follow up. The mechanism is currently working well.
(iii) Provision of Youth Information Services Leaflet
Since July 2003, the Police have enhanced the accessibility of professional support services for unruly children and youngsters who have come to the Police's attention by providing them and their parents with a Youth Information Services Leaflet. The leaflet contains useful information on a wide range of services provided by both government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Such services include counselling for those with emotional problems, advice on education and career opportunities, and assistance for those with drug-related problems.
In September 2004, the contents of the leaflet were further enriched to include website addresses of major NGOs targeted at serving the youths. Apart from Chinese and English, the leaflet is available in other languages to cater for the needs of ethnic minorities.
(c) The Administration has followed the recommendation in the report of the Law Reform Commission (LRC) on "The Age of Criminal Responsibility in Hong Kong" published in 2000 and raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility from seven to 10 years of age. The LRC arrived at its recommendation after thorough consideration of responses to public consultations, the findings of a telephone survey as well as the minimum ages adopted in overseas jurisdictions. The recommendation was implemented in 2003.
In practice, children aged under 14 who are arrested on criminal charges are mostly dealt with under the Police Superintendents' Discretion Scheme, rather than being subject to the full force of the criminal justice system. And the common law presumption of doli incapax for children aged from 10 to below 14 provides adequate protection for children within that age range, as the burden of proof of criminal intent is on the prosecution. Moreover, the standard of proof that the prosecution must adduce in such cases is high. It must be proven beyond reasonable doubt that not only was there actus reus with mens rea, but also that the child knew that the particular act was not merely naughty or mischievous, but seriously wrong. In view of the above, the Administration does not plan to further raise the criminal age of responsibility for the time being.
Ends/Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:31
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