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The Government is committed to reducing both the supply of and the demand
for illicit drugs through a wide range of action and programmes. It is
also committed to reducing the prevalence and incidence of drug abuse
by adopting a multi-modality approach in the provision of treatment and
rehabilitation services for drug abusers and dissuading people, in particular
the young, from taking or experimenting with drugs.
In combating drug trafficking and abuse, the Government adopts a five-pronged
approach which covers legislation and law enforcement, preventive education
and publicity, treatment and rehabilitation, research, and international
cooperation.
Effective law enforcement curtails illicit drug supply
and also ensures compulsory treatment for many who are convicted of an
offence and have a drug dependency. A wide range of treatment and rehabilitation
services is provided to meet the changing drug abuse trends and varying
needs of drug abusers from different backgrounds.
Preventive education and publicity programmes are
organised on a territory-wide basis and at district level to increase
public awareness of the harm caused by drug abuse and to encourage people
to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Research studies are conducted on various
aspects of the drug abuse problem and the evidence-based findings facilitate
the planning and launching of suitable anti-drug strategies and programmes.
Cooperation at the international level, through exchanges of information
and experience as well as joint action against illicit trafficking, enhances
the effectiveness of efforts in all these areas.
Composed of experts in various fields of social, community
and other areas of anti-drug work, the Action Committee Against Narcotics
(ACAN) is a non-statutory body which advises the Government on anti-drug
policies and activities. Headed by a chairman, it has 17 unofficial members,
three government officials including the Commissioner for Narcotics and
a representative from the Department of Health and from the Hong Kong
Police Force. Under a scheme of reciprocal appointment to advisory committees
between the Singapore and Hong Kong Governments, the Director of Singapore's
Central Narcotics Bureau is also invited to sit on the committee to exchange
experience with ACAN members.
During the year, the Government continued to step
up efforts to combat psychotropic substance abuse, particularly among
young people, by adopting comprehensive measures to tackle the problem
recommended in the Report of the Task Force on Psychotropic Substance
Abuse.
To fulfil its international obligations under the 1988 United Nations
Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances, Hong Kong enacted the Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds)
Ordinance and the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance which provide
for the tracing, freezing, confiscation and recovery of the proceeds of
drug trafficking and other serious crimes.
The Drug Trafficking and Organised Crimes (Amendment)
Ordinance was enacted in July 2002 to further enhance the effectiveness
of Hong Kong's anti-money laundering regime through amendments to the
Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Ordinance and the Organised and
Serious Crimes Ordinance. These amendments took effect on January 1, 2003.
Since the enactment of the Drug Trafficking (Recovery
of Proceeds) Ordinance and the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance,
assets valued at $383 million have been confiscated and paid to the Government.
As at year-end, assets amounting to $101 million had been ordered to be
confiscated and were pending recovery and a further $1,278 million was
restrained pending confiscation proceedings under these two ordinances.
The Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance (Amendment
of Schedule 1) Regulation 2002, which came into operation in January 2003,
brings dance parties at unlicensed premises under licensing control. To
dovetail with the implementation of the new licensing arrangement, the
Narcotics Division issued a revised Code of Practice for Dance Party
Organisers to promote self-regulation by party organisers or venue
providers.
The law enforcement agencies, i.e. the Police Force
and the Customs and Excise Department, continued to take strong and sustained
enforcement action to suppress drug trafficking and related crimes. Both
agencies further enhanced cooperation and communication with external
authorities and achieved fruitful results in the disruption and halting
of transnational trafficking activities and arrest of criminals. Furthermore,
cooperation with Guangdong Province and Macau was strengthened through
the mounting of parallel law enforcement actions, sharing of intelligence,
and exchange activities.
Hong Kong adopts a multi-modality approach in providing treatment and
rehabilitation services to cater for the different needs of drug abusers
from varying backgrounds.
The major drug treatment and rehabilitation services
include a compulsory drug treatment programme operated by the Correctional
Services Department, a voluntary methadone out-patient treatment programme
provided by the Department of Health, and voluntary residential programmes
run by non-governmental organisations including Christian therapeutic
drug treatment agencies. Medical and psychiatric treatment for psychotropic
substance abusers is provided by six substance abuse clinics under the
Hospital Authority. There are also five Counselling Centres for Psychotropic
Substance Abusers operated by non-governmental organisations which are
subvented by the Social Welfare Department.
The Drug Dependent Persons Treatment and Rehabilitation
Centres (Licensing) Ordinance, which came into operation on April 1, 2002,
provides for the control of treatment centres catering for voluntary residential
treatment of four or more persons, through a licensing scheme administered
by the Social Welfare Department. By year-end, 29 out of 44 Certificates
of Exemption issued to treatment centres operating before commencement
of the ordinance had been renewed and one licence issued to a new treatment
centre.
During the year, good progress continued to be made
in implementing the recommendations of the Second Three-year Plan on Drug
Treatment and Rehabilitation Services (2000-2002). In June, a new centre
providing a combined residential programme and out-patient service for
young male substance abusers began operation in Tuen Mun. In October,
a set of protocols for screening and assessment of poly-drug abusers was
issued to front-line anti-drug workers.
A working group was formed in February to advise the
Narcotics Division on the preparation of the Third Three-year Plan on
Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Services (2003-05). Following consultation
with relevant government departments and drug treatment agencies, the
Plan was promulgated in December. Apart from giving an overall view of
the drug abuse trends and major developments in the past years, the Plan
has formulated new strategies to improve the provision of drug treatment
and rehabilitation services. A working group comprising representatives
of relevant government departments will be set up in 2004 to follow up
on its implementation.
During the year, various measures were adopted to
improve the services of the methadone clinics pursuant to the recommendations
of the Report on the Review of the Methadone Treatment Programme. Individual
and group counselling services for methadone patients and their families
were enhanced. Following a pilot project at three methadone clinics between
July and September, the Department of Health decided to implement universal
HIV urine testing at all methadone clinics with effect from January 2004.
In October, the United Nations (UN) Regional Task Force on Drug Use and
HIV Vulnerability organised a Training Workshop on Methadone Treatment
for HIV Prevention in Hong Kong. The three-day workshop attracted over
100 health care workers from the South-East Asia and Pacific region.
The Narcotics Division adopted a multi-faceted approach in publicising
the anti-drug message during the year. To sustain drug education for students,
the division has continued to provide school programmes to students from
Primary 5 to Senior Secondary levels as well as those in the Hong Kong
Institute of Vocational Education (HKIVE). Further to an extension of
the service to schools of the English Schools Foundation and international
schools in September 2001, the provision of school drug education programmes
was expanded to reach students of South Asian origin in 2003. During the
year, 1 365 education programmes for 102 800 students in 217 primary schools
and 123 secondary schools were delivered. Another 117 programmes were
conducted for 5 500 students of the HKIVE. Apart from programmes targeting
students, drug talks and seminars were also conducted for 5 400 teachers,
social workers and members of uniformed youth groups.
Preparation for the commissioning of Hong Kong's first-ever
exhibition centre on drug education continued, and it is scheduled to
open in mid-2004. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Drug InfoCentre (DIC) comprises
two levels. The ground level is home to the main exhibition areas —
the Host, Agent and Environment areas. The mezzanine level houses functional
areas including an interactive theatre, a classroom, an info-cafe and
a library. Apart from graphic displays, the DIC makes use of multimedia
exhibits to disseminate anti-drug messages to young people.
In view of the popularity of the Internet among young
people, the Narcotics Division launched an interactive role-play game
at its revamped website which contains more interactive elements and user-friendly
navigation, as well as a special section giving anti-drug information
and detailing the harmful effects of psychotropic substance abuse. The
game was also produced as a CD-ROM for distribution to primary and secondary
schools, tertiary institutes, anti-drug agencies, youth centres and public
libraries.
Particular emphasis has been placed on the harm caused
by psychotropic substance abuse. Other than in the electronic media, the
year's anti-drug campaign messages were also publicised in buses, public
light buses, the MTR, and the KCRC East Rail and new West Rail. Posters
and anti-drug messages on the same theme were disseminated at sea and
land boundary control points. In addition, a new series of the well-received
TV documentary entitled Anti-drugs Special II was produced by Radio
Television Hong Kong under the sponsorship of the Beat Drugs Fund to arouse
public awareness of the harmful effects of drug abuse.
The Community Against Drugs Scheme continued to provide
sponsorship of $600,000 to 20 anti-drug projects organised by District
Fight Crime Committees, schools and community organisations. Anti-drug
carnivals, competitions and district publicity functions were held.
The Anti-drug Volunteer Group had 230 individual and
90 corporate volunteers. Individual volunteers participated in 21 anti-drug
community and publicity activities, including district carnivals, exhibitions
and seminars. Corporate volunteers also helped promote the anti-drug message
during the year. The Star Ferry Company Limited provided a venue for staging
an anti-drug exhibition at the Kowloon Point Pier. The CLP Power Hong
Kong Limited assisted by distributing anti-drug leaflets to customers
as bill inserts. On December 24, volunteers stepped up publicity by staging
anti-drug games at the 38th Hong Kong Products Expo held at Victoria Park.
The Anti-drug Abuse Hotline (2366 8822), which
was revamped in March, received more than 16 000 enquiry
calls.
Statistics on drug abuse are supplied by the Central Registry of Drug
Abuse (CRDA). Information on drug abusers is collated by the Registry
through a wide network of reporting agencies, including law enforcement
departments, treatment and welfare agencies, hospitals and clinics. During
the year, about 15 600 drug abusers were reported to the Registry. Of
these, 28 per cent were newly reported cases, 14 per cent were aged under
21 and 84 per cent were male. The proportion of drug abusers in the general
population remained relatively small at about 2.6 per thousand.
Heroin remained the drug most commonly abused in Hong
Kong. It was abused by 75 per cent of the persons reported to the Registry.
In comparison with the past, the trend is that more people who were reported
to the Registry abused psychotropic substances (37 per cent) when compared
with five years ago (22 per cent). The most common psychotropic substances
of abuse included ketamine (14 per cent), triazolam/midazolam (11 per
cent), cannabis (7 per cent), and 'ecstasy' (7 per cent). About 21 per
cent of the drug abusers were reported to have abused more than one drug.
Drug-related research studies are coordinated by the ACAN Subcommittee
on Research. The findings of these studies provide useful reference materials
to facilitate the Government's planning of anti-drug strategies and programmes.
During the year, one new project was identified for implementation. Another
five studies were carried forward and two studies were completed.
The computerised CRDA serves to monitor changes in
trends and characteristics of the drug abuser population in Hong Kong,
and produces statistics for in-depth analyses. Two half-yearly reports
on characteristics of drug abusers were published.
The Government participates in international forums against drug abuse,
drug trafficking and money laundering. Apart from fulfilling its obligations
under the three major UN conventions concerning narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances, the Government also maintains close links with the UN and
the World Health Organisation, the International Criminal Police Organisation
(Interpol), the World Customs Organisation and other governments, so as
to ensure Hong Kong's anti-drug and anti-money laundering work on various
fronts remains in step with current international standards and requirements.
In April, representatives from the Narcotics Division
attended the 46th session of the UN Commission on Narcotics Drugs, held
in Vienna, as members of the delegation of China. The meeting helped keep
Hong Kong abreast of the world drug abuse situation, as well as trends
in illicit drug trafficking and supply.
In response to the big increase in traffic and passenger
flows between the Mainland and Hong Kong in recent years, the Narcotics
Division has developed close ties with the Bureau of Narcotics Control
of the Ministry of Public Security in order to align anti-drug policies
and strategies. Furthermore, the Police Force and the Customs and Excise
Department have also established cooperative mechanisms with their Mainland
counterparts. The scope of cooperation includes exchange of information
and intelligence, assistance in investigation, and mounting of joint operations
as well as experience-sharing seminars which are conducted from time to
time.
The Guangdong Narcotics Control Commission hosted
the second Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau Tripartite Conference on Policy
to Tackle Drug Abuse and Trafficking in Zhongshan in February. The conference
was attended by more than 120 anti-drug officials and professionals who
had useful exchanges on the latest drug abuse and trafficking trends,
and on strategies to tackle the problem.
On the anti-money laundering front, Hong Kong is a
member of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) as
well as a founding member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering
(APG). Over the years, Hong Kong has put in place effective legal and
financial systems to tackle money laundering, and has implemented most
of the FATF's 1996 Forty Recommendations — the international standards
and practices in combating money laundering designed for universal application
— either by legislation or through guidelines issued by the financial
regulators. Apart from being its president in 2001-02, Hong Kong also
served from 2000 to 2003 as a member of FATF's Steering Group, an advisory
body which sets the direction and priority of the work of the Task Force.
Hong Kong contributes to all the important activities
of the FATF. It participated in the work of the Working Group on the Review
of the Forty Recommendations which culminated in the adoption of the revised
set of Forty Recommendations by the FATF at its Berlin Plenary in June.
The revised set forms the new international benchmark against which efforts
by jurisdictions world-wide in the areas of anti-money laundering and
countering financing of terrorism are assessed. Preparatory work has begun
on implementing the revised Forty Recommendations in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong took part in the work of the FATF's Working
Group on Terrorist Financing (WGTF) and the Working Group on International
Financial Institutions (WGIFI). The work of the WGTF led to the issue
in 2003 of various Interpretative Notes and Best Practice Papers on Special
Recommendations concerning freezing and confiscating terrorist assets,
alternative remittance, and wire transfer. Besides this, Hong Kong, through
active involvement in the work of the WGIFI, assisted in the development
of a new common assessment methodology for anti-money laundering and countering
financing of terrorism for use by the FATF and the International Monetary
Fund/World Bank.
In the context of the Non-Cooperative Countries and
Territories (NCCT) exercises, Hong Kong has acted as the principal contact
in the NCCT review exercise of Indonesia since 2000, and was part of the
FATF delegation to the Philippines in March 2003. In both cases, the FATF
succeeded in convincing the two jurisdictions to enhance their anti-money
laundering regimes.
In September, Hong Kong was selected as a member of
the APG's newly formed Steering Group, and it took part in the APG's mutual
evaluation of the Philippines in November. Mutual evaluations are the
primary means by which the APG monitors the progress made by members in
implementing the FATF Forty Recommendations. The mutual evaluation process
is designed to give due recognition where standard benchmarks are met,
and to identify weaknesses and make appropriate recommendations.
Hong Kong has also joined the newly formed APG Typologies
Working Group. The Working Group is to undertake a series of coordinated
and intensive examinations of measures to counter money laundering and
terrorist financing methods or trends. It will also develop and support
a network of APG experts on key typological issues and act as an advisory
body to provide practical assistance in planning and running typologies
workshops.
To combat transnational crimes effectively, Hong Kong
continued to support mutual legal assistance between jurisdictions. By
year-end, it had entered into 15 agreements and signed 13 bilateral agreements
with other jurisdictions on surrender of fugitive offenders.
In sharing experience and expertise, anti-drug personnel
took part in various international meetings, seminars, and workshops concerned
with anti-drug policies, law enforcement, treatment and rehabilitation,
and preventive education.
To promote community efforts to beat drugs, the Government established
a Beat Drugs Fund in 1996 with a capital outlay of $350 million. During
the year, a total of $5.52 million was allocated to 16 projects. Apart
from education and publicity projects, treatment and rehabilitation and
research works were also sponsored. For example, a substance abuse clinic
was allotted funds to provide professionally led vocational assessment
and counselling services to high-risk youths and young substance abusers
through outreaching programmes. Another community organisation was funded
to train up high-risk youths to serve as peer instructors in outreaching
anti-drug activities. |
