Hong Kong 2003
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Drug Abuse and Trafficking

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.

Overall Strategy and Coordination

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.

Legislation and Law Enforcement

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.

Treatment and Rehabilitation

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.

Preventive Education and Publicity

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.

Drug Abuse, Statistics and Trends

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.

Research

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.

International Action and Regional Cooperation

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.

Beat Drugs Fund

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.

     
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