|
|
Taming the Triads: Organised Crime Offences in PR China, Hong Kong, and Macau（2） |
|
Taming the Triads: Organised Crime Offences in PR China, Hong Kong, and Macau（2）
Article 294(4)
The fourth paragraph of Article 294 Criminal Law 1997 (China) is specifically aimed at suppressing the bribery of government officials by creating a separate offence for state functionaries who harbour or connive criminal organisations with a syndicate nature. In serious circumstances, officials may face penalties of up to ten years fixed-term imprisonment.
1.4 Observations
China's criminal offences relating to organised crime are a peculiar mix of general extensions to criminal liability and specific offences. Further, the Criminal Law 1997 (China) combines domestic phenomena with foreign influences. The relevant offences reflect the concept of organised crime in the Convention against Transnational Organised Crime while also capturing the unique features of Chinese triads. Corruption and bribery -- which have plagued China in the last two decades -- also feature very prominently in China's organised crime offences and have been a principal target of enforcement action, often resulting in heavy sentences and executions.
In combination, Articles 26 and 294 cover a much broader spectrum of criminal organisations than international law and Western criminal laws (such as Canada and New Zealand). In part, this has been explained by the fact that organised crime is understood differently in China and is interpreted much broader than similar Western concepts. [FN51] But on the other hand, the previous discussion has shown that even Chinese scholars remain uncertain about the true boundaries of organised crime and about the distinction between criminal groups (Article 26) and "criminal organisations of a triad nature" (Article 294). [FN52]
While official statistics show very high numbers of arrests and prosecutions involving criminal organisations, without further research of the domestic patterns and dimensions of organised crime in China, it is not possible to make conclusive statements about the impact of China's organised crime offences. There is, at present, no evidence to suggest that organised crime in China is declining, but there is equally nothing to support the view that organised crime has further escalated in recent years. China's strong stand and tough enforcement action against criminal organisations under the Yanda policy is well documented. However, some critics have argued that the criminal offences in the Criminal Law 1997 are too soft to effectively suppress organised crime. Zhao Guoling, for instance, remarks that: "The maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment is too lenient and is not sufficient for a crime with such huge social consequences ... punishment as over ten years imprisonment, life imprisonment and even death should be introduced for serious offenders." [FN53]
2 Hong Kong SAR
Hong Kong, along with Macau, is one of two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China. After over 155 years under British rule, Hong Kong was returned to China on 1 July 1997. This handover was agreed upon in the Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong between China and the United Kingdom (UK) of December 19, 1984. [FN54] This declaration sets out Hong Kong's status under Chinese rule and the Basic Law, the SAR's quasi-constitution. The Joint Declaration creates a "one country, two systems" policy and ensures that Hong Kong maintains a "high degree of autonomy" over all matters except foreign affairs and defence and also stipulates that Hong Kong's laws (referred to as ordinances), including its criminal law, continue operation beyond the 1997 handover.
2.1 Organised Crime in Hong Kong
Organised crime features very prominently in the history of Hong Kong for two principal reasons: first, the former colony has been a major transit point for illicit drugs and, second, Hong Kong is a major base for a great number of triad societies.
2.1.1 Opium and other illicit drugs
When Hong Kong was established as a British colony in 1841 it "was founded on opium". [FN55] For almost a century, revenues from the opium trade were among the most important sources of government income and the drug trade was regulated and controlled to protect and ensure this source of revenue. [FN56] Legislation to prohibit the sale of opium and criminalise other aspects of the drug trade began in 1932 and gradually led to a complete prohibition. But this development coincided with the shift of many triads from mainland China to Hong Kong and the subsequent emergence of a flourishing black market for illicit drugs, both for local consumption and for export to other countries in the region, in North America, and Europe. Karen Joe Laidler et al remark that:
"the withdrawal of the Hong Kong government from the opium trade had the effect of turning the entire drug trade over to organised crime. From this point onward the drug trade would be more or less free to follow consumer demand as well as the dictates of organised crime." [FN57]
Today, heroin and other opium based substances continue to be brought into Hong Kong from Myanmar via China, while most amphetamine-type stimulants and their precursors (especially ephedrine) usually originate in mainland China. [FN58]
2.1.2 Criminal organisations in Hong Kong
Organised crime in Hong Kong is often synonymous with Chinese triad societies. A great number of triad societies maintain a presence in the former colony since the 1800s. The victory of the communists in mainland China and the rigid suppression of triads that followed caused many organisations and their members to shift to Hong Kong and take advantage of Hong Kong's booming and liberal market economy. [FN59] Jon Vagg noted that the economic differential between China and the then British colony (which has been maintained in the 'one country, two systems' policy) accompanied by "an attempt to impose various kinds of border controls can in some circumstances constitute an opportunity for criminal activity." [FN60] Other writers have described Hong Kong as "the undisputed capital of modern day triads". [FN61] When Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, it was widely expected that the triads would suspend their presence in Hong Kong and relocate elsewhere. However, most observers agree that "the reverse turned out to be the case". [FN62]
In 1999, Hong Kong Police reported that it was aware of fifty triad societies operating in the SAR, of which fifteen to twenty regularly come to the attention of local authorities. [FN63] It has been estimated that there are between 30,000 and 160,000 triad members in Hong Kong. [FN64] The 14K, Who Shing Wo (the Wo groups), and Sun Yee On groups are among the most notorious Hong Kong triads. [FN65] Their activities cover a great range of illegal undertakings including the smuggling of various contraband such as cigarettes, artefacts, and motor vehicles; [FN66] migrant smuggling from China into Hong Kong but also to destinations further afield such as North America, Australia, and Europe; [FN67] trafficking in persons; [FN68] prostitution and the brothel industry; [FN69] illegal gambling, also including online betting and soccer gambling; [FN70] loan sharking and debt collection; [FN71] and large-scale credit card and identity card fraud. [FN72]
Many triad activities often include threats, extortion, violence, and kidnappings which are used to eliminate or threaten competitors, witnesses, members of other triads, but also business and political figures. [FN73] To increase profits, raise funds, and to conceal their criminal activities and proceeds of crime, the larger criminal organisations also operate multiple legitimate enterprises. [FN74] Legal activities of triad societies in Hong Kong frequently involve local transport companies and the film industry. [FN75]
In the literature and among law enforcement agencies, there is some disagreement about the structure and organisation of triads. Chinese triad societies are traditionally portrayed as strictly hierarchical organisations with firm membership structures, clear assignments of roles and duties, and strict codes of discipline. Lo Shiu-Hing, for instance, found that triads are generally:
"led by a dragon head with the assistance of incense masters who are responsible for rituals and initiation, red poles who are fighters, straw sandals who deal with liaison and communication work, white fans who are the planners and administrators, and ordinary members." [FN76]
One characteristic of triad societies is the use of visual or audible identifiers. Triads traditionally use initiation rituals, insignia, symbols, and tattoos. Procedures such as slitting fingertips and mingling or sucking blood, pricking the middle fingers or marking the finger with red dots are used to initiate members and create a sense of belonging. Historically, triad membership cannot be terminated and is based on the premise "once a member, always a member". The rituals employed by triads visually label new and existing members, and mark them for life. Triads also use hand signals and group jargon -- sometimes referred to as "triad language" -- to communicate. [FN77]
But not all criminal organisations in Hong Kong are of the same design and structure as traditional triad societies and some reports suggest that many groups have adopted more flexible structures and are better described as non-hierarchical, decentralised collections of several criminal groups. [FN78] The Big Circle Gang (or Big Circle Boys), for instance, is Hong Kong's biggest non-triad group and is based on a non-hierarchical network of many mainland Chinese who reside in Hong Kong illegally, but the name of this triad has also been used by gangs in Macau and North America with no obvious connection to the Hong Kong based syndicate. [FN79] Profits usually remain with local gangs and are not collected centrally. [FN80] It has been found that especially in the illicit drug trade, many organisations are based on loose, informal connections between people that collaborate if and when opportunities -- legitimate and illegitimate -- arise. For these groups, the triad system may only be relevant in order to establish connections between individuals. Triads use youth and street gangs as a pool for new recruits. [FN81]
Many triad societies are also closely connected to the business sector, senior administrators, and corrupt government officials in Hong Kong and now also in mainland China. Bertil Lintner remarked that: "While the criminals live outside the law, they have never been outside society." [FN82]
2.2 Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance
In Hong Kong, criminal law is a mixture of common law and statutes. The general principles of criminal liability are largely based on English common law while most of the special offences are set out in the Crimes Ordinance which came into operation on 31 December 1972. The Crimes Ordinance also contains provisions for attempts (section 159G) and conspiracy (section 159A) which are for the most part based on English models. The Convention against Transnational Crime, which has been signed by China, now also applies to Hong Kong.
In addition to the Crimes Ordinance, Hong Kong has specific provisions for organised crime, especially triad groups, in the Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance (No 82 of 1994) [FN83] and the Societies Ordinance (No 28 of 1949). The Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance was enacted:
"to create new powers of investigation into organised crimes and certain other offences and into the proceeds of crime of certain offenders; provide for the confiscation of proceeds of crime; make provisions in respect of the sentencing of certain offenders; create an offence of assisting a person to retain proceeds of crime; and for ancillary and connected matters." [FN84]
The principal purpose of this ordinance is to enable law enforcement agencies to combat organised crime more effectively by using special powers of investigation. [FN85] Secondly, the Ordinance facilitates forfeiture and the seizure of illegitimate assets [FN86] and contains special provisions regarding criminal procedure and the prosecution and sentencing of offenders. [FN87] Unlike the Societies Ordinance, the Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance -- sometimes referred to as OSCO -- does not create new offences, it does not establish membership in a criminal organisation as a crime, and it does not place penalties on the organisation itself. The following sections analyse the definition of organised crime under this ordinance and outline other relevant provisions. [FN88]
2.2.1 Definition of organised crime
The interpretation of relevant terms used in the Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance is set out in s 2:
"organized crime" means a Schedule 1 offence that--
(a) is connected with the activities of a particular triad society;
(b) is related to the activities of 2 or more persons associated together solely or partly for the purpose of committing 2 or more acts, each of which is a Schedule 1 offence and involves substantial planning and organization; or
(c) is committed by 2 or more persons, involves substantial planning and organization and involves-
(i) loss of the life of any person, or a substantial risk of such a loss;
(ii) serious bodily or psychological harm to any person, or a substantial risk of such harm; or
(iii) serious loss of liberty of any person.
This definition of organised crime captures three separate types of associations:
(a) triad societies;
(b) associations planning to commit certain (serious) offences; and
(c) associations committing certain serious offences.
All three types require some connection to one of the offences set out in Schedule 1 of the Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance. This schedule contains a list of offences found in nineteen different statutes and at common law ranging from murder, assault, kidnapping, importation, immigration and drug offences to gambling offences, triad offences, loan sharking, and offences involving firearms or other weapons. In general, the Schedule 1 offences are serious offences which are frequently carried out by criminal organisations to gain material profit or to facilitate their illegal operations. Parts (a) and (b) of the definition of organised crime do not require that these offences have actually been committed. The list effectively limits the application of the Ordinance -- and the powers available to law enforcement under that Ordinance -- to certain serious offences if these are carried out by certain criminal groups. The following sections discuss the three types separately although there is significant overlap between them.
(a) Triad societies
Triad societies are further defined in section 2 Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance (Hong Kong) as:
any society which--
(a) uses any ritual commonly used by triad societies, any ritual closely resembling any such ritual or any part of any such ritual; or
(b) adopts or makes use of any triad title or nomenclature.
This first type of organised crime is designed to cover traditional Chinese triad societies which are based on shared rituals or triad rules and whose activities are connected with one of the offences under Schedule 1 of the ordinance. Triads unconnected with these particular kinds of crimes do not fall within the scope of the ordinance, but may be covered by the Societies Ordinance.
(b) Two or more persons planning certain offences
The second type of organised crime under Hong Kong's Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance captures associations of two or more people for the purpose of committing two or more Schedule 1 offences. It is not required that the persons involved actually carry out any of these offences, but it is necessary to show that their activities "involve substantial planning and organisation" thus excluding random and spontaneous associations from the definition.
(c) Two or more persons committing certain offences
Only the third type of organised crime requires the actual commission of a Schedule 1 offence. The threshold under (c) is higher than that of type (b) as it is necessary to show that the offence also resulted in the actual or potential loss of life (i), in actual or potential serious bodily or psychological harm (ii), or in serious loss of liberty of any person (iii). As with (b) it is necessary to show that the association involved at least two or more persons and substantial planning and organisation. In comparison, there appears to be significant overlap between (b) and (c) and any organised crime activity covered under (c) is also automatically covered by (b).
2.2.2 Other provisions
It was mentioned earlier that the Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance (Hong Kong) does not create any specific offences for criminal organisations or for the persons associated with organised crime. The ordinance only contains an offence for dealing with proceeds of crime, ie money laundering, section 25. [FN89]
The remaining sections of the ordinance, sections 3-32, almost exclusively create law enforcement powers that may be utilised in the investigation of 'organised crime' as defined in section 2. These include powers to conduct searches and obtain information, [FN90] powers relating to the confiscation of property and proceeds of crime, [FN91] restraining orders, [FN92] and provisions for remittance agents and money chargers. [FN93]
2.3 Societies Ordinance
Hong Kong's Societies Ordinance was first introduced in 1949 [FN94] and up until today remains of great practical relevance insofar as criminal offences for triad organisations and certain other "unlawful societies" are concerned. The purpose of this Ordinance is the creation of a registration system for all Hong Kong societies, including "any club, company, partnership or association of persons". [FN95] "The Societies Ordinance", notes A Chen,
"requires all persons who want to form any association of any kind other than certain excepted categories to apply to the Registrar of Societies (who is in practice the Commissioner for Police) for registration and to submit the proposed constitution of the organisation for scrutiny and approval." [FN96]
Registered societies are the subject of extensive control and monitoring requirements while associations that fail to gain registration are considered to be "unlawful societies". The Ordinance also contains extensive provisions relating to the prohibition of certain societies and the criminalisation of persons establishing, directing, recruiting for, associating with, or otherwise supporting triad or unlawful societies.
2.3.1 Unlawful societies
The offences and prohibitions under the Ordinance apply to triad societies and unlawful societies as defined in s 18:
(1) For the purposes of this Ordinance, "unlawful society" means--
(a) a triad society, whether or not such society is a registered society or an exempted society and whether or not such society is a local society; or
(b) a society in respect of which, or in respect of whose branch, an order made under section 8 is in force.
(2) (Repealed 75 of 1992 s. 11)
(3) Every society which uses any triad ritual or which adopts or makes use of any triad title or nomenclature shall be deemed to be a triad society.
This definition differentiates between two types of illegal societies. The first type involves triad societies (which are not further defined in the Ordinance). Groups using triad rituals et cetera are by virtue of subs (3) also treated as triads. [FN97] The second type refers to societies that have been prohibited by virtue of s 8 of the Ordinance because they are seen, as a threat to national security, public safety, public order, or to the protection of rights and freedoms of others and thus failed to gain registration. [FN98] The prohibition may also be applied to political organisations. [FN99] The power to prohibit organisations is vested in the Secretary for Security who acts on the recommendation of the Societies Officer appointed under the Ordinance. [FN100]
The distinction between unlawful societies and triad societies is a significant one as higher penalties apply for offences associated with triads. The distinction reflects the concern of Hong Kong authorities over the local triad problem which is seen as more dangerous compared to other types of criminal organisations, including foreign organised crime groups.
2.3.2 Offences associated with unlawful societies
Sections 19-23 Societies Ordinance (Hong Kong) set out a range of offences for persons associated with unlawful societies. The main objective of these offences is to deter people from joining or supporting criminal organisations. [FN101] Each offence is divided into two subsections which provide different penalties for "unlawful societies", subss (1), and higher penalties for triad societies, subss (2). The offences cover a range of different roles a person may occupy within the organisation and criminalises various forms of associations with unlawful societies and triads. Figure 3 provides a summary of the existing offences which are discussed separately in the following sections.
Figure 3 Offences and penalties under the Societies Ordinance (Hong Kong)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Offences Unlawful societies Triad societies
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Managers, assistant managers, S 19(1) S 19(2) 15yrs/HKD100,000
office bearers 3yrs/HKD100,000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Members, acting as members, S 20(1) 1yr/HKD20,000 S 20(2) 3yrs/HKD100,000
attending meetings (1st offence) (1st offence)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paying money, giving aid, S 20(2) 3yrs/HKD100,000
control of books, accounts, (1st offence)
seals, lists of members etc
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allowing premises to be used S 21(1) 1yr/HKD50,000 S 21(2) 3yrs/HKD100,000
(1st offence)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recruitment of members S 22(1) S 22(2) 5yrs/HKD250,000
2yrs/HKD50,0000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Procuring aid/support S 23(1) S 23(2) 5yrs/HKD 250,000
2yrs/HKD50,000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Managing unlawful societies
The first and most serious of these offences applies to persons involved in the management of triads and unlawful societies, s 19 Societies Ordinance.
(1) Save as is provided in subsection (2), any office-bearer or any person professing or claiming to be an office-bearer and any person managing or assistant in the management of any unlawful society shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to a fine of $100,000 and to imprisonment for 3 years.
(2) Any office-bearer or any person professing or claiming to be an office-bearer and any person managing or assisting in the management of any triad society shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to a fine of $100,000 and to imprisonment for 15 years.
Under subs (1) "any office-bearer [FN102] or any person professing or claiming to be an office-bearer and any person managing or assisting in the management of any unlawful society shall be guilty of an offence". A higher penalty of up to fifteen years imprisonment or a fine of HKD100,000 applies if the unlawful society is a triad society, s 19(2). Section 28(2) Societies Ordinance establishes a presumption (rebuttable by the defendant) that any person found in possession of "any books, accounts, writings, lists of members, seals, banners or insignia of or relating to any triad society" is considered to assist in the management of a triad society.
This offence is specifically designed for the core directors and leaders of criminal organisations and accordingly provides the highest penalties. The offence also extends to persons "professing or claiming" to be an office bearer, though it has been held that such conduct need to involve more than mere admissions to police. [FN103] Persons convicted for the offence under s 19 may also be barred from becoming an office bearer in any (legitimate) society for up to five years, s 24 Societies Ordinance.
[FN51]. See Section 1.3 above.
[FN52]. Guoling (see n 7 above), p 306.
[FN53]. Ibid.
[FN54]. Signed at Beijing, 19 December 1984, 1399 UNTS 60.
[FN55]. The First Opium War lasted from 1839-1842, culminating in the Treaty of Nanking, which opened up China to trade and ceded Hong Kong to the British Empire. See Eitel (n 2 above), pp 75-95.
[FN56]. Alfred McCoy, "From Free Trade to Prohibition: A Critical History of the Modern Asian Opium Trade", (2000) 28 Fordham Urban Law Journal 307, 317- 318; Karen Joe Laidler, The Hong Kong Drug Market (Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong Centre for Criminology, 2000) pp 3-4.
[FN57]. Laidler (see n 56 above), p 7.
[FN58]. McCoy (see n 56 above), p 344; Laidler (see n 56 above), p 11; Chu (see n 5 above), p 185.
[FN59]. See further Section 1.1.1 above.
[FN60]. Jon Vagg, "The Borders of Crime: Hong Kong-China Cross-Border Activity", (1992) 32(3) British Journal of Criminology 310, 310.
[FN61]. Lo Shiu-Hing, "Cross-Border Organised Crime in Greater South China", (1999) 5(2) Transnational Organised Crime 176, 178 referring to a US Senate Committee report.
[FN62]. Lintner (see n 2 above), p 85.
[FN63]. Ip Pau Fuk, "Organised Crime in Hong Kong", paper presented at the Organised Crime and the 21st Century Seminar, The University of Hong Kong, 26 June 1999. For a list of triad societies and other criminal groups in Hong Kong see James McKenna, "Organised Crime in the Former Royal Colony of Hong Kong", in Patrick Ryan & George Rush (eds), Understanding Organised Crime in Global Perspective (Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, 1997) 205, 208; and also Chin (see n 2 above), p 49.
[FN64]. Chin (see n 2 above), p 47; Cheong (see n 2 above), p 18. McKenna (see n 63 above), p 206 cited reports stating that "1 out of every 20 residents of Hong Kong may be a member or affiliate of an organized criminal group".
[FN65]. Chu (see n 5 above), pp 9-11. Cf McKenna (see n 63 above), p 207.
[FN66]. Vagg (see n 60 above), pp 311-319.
[FN67]. Schloenhardt (see n 34 above), pp 141-142; Lo Shiu-Hing, "Cross-Border Organised Crime in Greater South China", (1999) 5(2) Transnational Organised Crime 176, 183-184; Chu (see n 5 above), pp 190-191.
[FN68]. Shiu-Hing (see n 67 above), p 188.
[FN69]. Chin (see n 2 above), p 52; Lintner (see n 2 above), p 89; Cheong (see n 2 above), p 7.
[FN70]. Jones & Vagg (see n 4 above), pp 361-362; Lintner (see n 2 above), p 89; Chin (see n 2 above), p 53; Shiu-Hing (see n 67 above), p 177; Cheong (see n 2 above), p 7.
[FN71]. Shiu-Hing (see n 67 above), p 187; Cheong (see n 2 above), pp 6-7.
[FN72]. HKSAR v Lee Tsung Lin [2002] 2 HKLRD H9; Shiu-Hing (see n 67 above), p 186.
[FN73]. Cheong (see n 2 above), pp 4-5; Chin (see n 2 above), p 53; Shiu-Hing (see n 67 above), p 176; McKenna (see n 63 above), p 210.
[FN74]. Shiu-Hing (see n 67 above), p 178; Ip Pau Fuk, "Organised Crime in Hong Kong", paper presented at the Organised Crime and the 21st Century Seminar, The University of Hong Kong, 26 June 1999; Chin (see n 2 above), p 57.
[FN75]. McKenna (see n 63 above), p 209-210.
[FN76]. Shiu-Hing (see n 67 above), p 177. See also Ip Pau Fuk, "Organised Crime in Hong Kong", paper presented at the Organised Crime and the 21st Century Seminar, The University of Hong Kong, 26 June 1999.
[FN77]. Kingsley Bolton et al, "The Speech-Act Offence: Claiming and Professing Membership of a Triad Society in Hong Kong", (1996) 16(3) Language & Communication 263, 279-281; Lintner (see n 2 above), p 87; Shiu-Hing (see n 67 above), p 178.
[FN78]. McKenna (see n 63 above), p 207; Chu (see n 2 above), p 184; Ip Pau Fuk, "Organised Crime in Hong Kong", paper presented at the Organised Crime and the 21st Century Seminar, The University of Hong Kong, 26 June 1999.
[FN79]. Shiu-Hing (see n 67 above), p 177; Lintner (see n 2 above), p 91; Chin (see n 2 above), p 51.
[FN80]. Chin (see n 2 above), p 51.
[FN81]. Cf Jones & Vagg (see n 4 above), pp 87, 89-90; Laidler (see n 56 above), p 10; Ip Pau Fuk, "Organised Crime in Hong Kong", paper presented at the Organised Crime and the 21st Century Seminar, The University of Hong Kong, 26 June 1999; Cheong (see n 2 above), p 6.
[FN82]. Lintner (see n 2 above), p 89.
[FN83]. Chapter 455, reprinted in Hong Kong SAR, Department of Justice, Bilingual Laws Information System, available at www.justice.gov.hk (visited 14 March 2001).
[FN84]. Long title Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance 1994 (Hong Kong)
[FN85]. Sections 2-7, 24E Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance 1994 (Hong Kong). Cf Cheong (see n 2 above), p 10.
[FN86]. Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance 1994 (Hong Kong), ss 8-24D, 25-26.
[FN87]. Ibid, ss 27-30.
[FN88]. The analysis is based on the official English versions of Hong Kong law provided by the Hong Kong Department of Justice.
[FN89]. See further Alain Sham, "Money laundering laws and regulations: China and Hong Kong", (2006) 9(4) Journal of Money Laundering Control 379, 390- 391.
[FN90]. Sections 3-6 Organized Crime and Ordinance (Hong Kong).
[FN91]. Sections 8-13, 16-23 Organized Crime Ordinance (Hong Kong).
[FN92]. Sections 14, 15 Organized Crime Ordinance (Hong Kong).
[FN93]. Sections 24A-24E Organized Crime Ordinance Hong Kong).
[FN94]. No 28 of 1949. Relevant amendments were made in 1964 (Ordinance No 36 of 1964), 1992 (No 75 of 1992), and 1997 (No 118 of 1997).
[FN95]. Section 2(1) Societies Ordinance (Hong Kong).
[FN96]. A Chen, "Editorial: Civil liberties in Hong Kong: freedoms of expression and association", (1989) 19 Hong Kong Law Journal 4, 5-6.
[FN97]. "Triad ritual means any ritual commonly used by triad societies, any ritual closely resembling any such ritual and any part of any such ritual": s 2(1) Societies Ordinance (Hong Kong).
[FN98]. Section 8(1)(a) Societies Ordinance (Hong Kong).
[FN99]. Section 8(1)(b) Societies Ordinance (Hong Kong).
[FN100]. Section 8(1)-(4) Societies Ordinance (Hong Kong).
[FN101]. Cheong (see n 2 above), p 9.
[FN102]. The term "office bearer" is further defined in s 2 Societies Ordinance to include "any person who is the president, vice president, or secretary or treasurer ... or who is a member of the committee or governing body of such society ..." or who holds an analogous position.
[FN103]. Chung-Wai v R [1980] HKLR 593 at 601 per Addison J.
|
|
|
|
|
|
