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Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, in the Legislative Council (December 6):
Question:
Regarding the indecent assault cases on public transport, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of relevant reports received by the Police and relevant persons convicted in each of the past two years, with a breakdown by the mode of public transport;
(b) whether there are new measures to combat the crime; and
(c) whether it will consider drawing reference from the practices in other places to prevent such crime and studying the feasibility of designating women-only compartments for rush hours?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The number of reported indecent assault cases on public transport received by the Police in the past two years, with breakdown by the mode of public transport, is as follows:
Mode of public 2004 2005 2006 (Jan-Oct)
transport
-------------- ---- ---- -------------
Bus 80 82 58
Mass Transit 39 33 29
Railway (MTR)
Kowloon-Canton 16 14 19
Railway (KCR)
(including East
Rail, West Rail,
Ma On Shan Rail
and Light Rail)
Public light bus 15 19 8
Others (e.g. 8 16 11
ferry, tram, etc.)
Total 158 164 125
During the first ten months of 2006, the number of indecent assault cases occurring on public transport (125 cases) recorded a 10.1 per cent decrease, compared with the number of the same period last year (139 cases).
The number of persons convicted in the cases concerned is as follows:
Mode of 2004 2005 2006 (Jan-Jun)*
public transport
---------------- ---- ---- ----------------
Bus 42 37 8
MTR 18 10 2
KCR
(including East 3 5 1
Rail, West Rail,
Ma On Shan Rail
and Light Rail)
Public light bus 6 12 1
Others (e.g. 4 5 1
ferry, tram, etc.)
Total 73 69 13
* Only conviction figures of persons concerned between January and June 2006 are available in the latest statistics.
(b) In response to the trend of the crime in question, the Police will formulate corresponding crime-combating measures, including organising anti-crime publicity campaigns regularly, enhancing uniform police patrols (including patrols within railway premises), planning intelligence-led operations by plainclothes officers, and immediate handling of reports by carrying out investigation and prosecution against arrested persons.
We understand that, at present, the operators of major modes of public transport (including franchised buses and ferries) have provided in their training courses guidance for their staff (for example, inspectors, bus captains and masters, etc.) on actions that should be taken to deal with unforeseen incidents (such as indecent assault cases). At the same time, they have also drawn up guidelines under which the staff have to monitor the situation of the passengers inside vehicle compartments or ferry cabins from time to time, and render assistance to passengers or request for the Police's assistance when necessary.
All major public transport operators in Hong Kong will continue to ensure passenger safety, and will work closely with the Police to combat crimes on public transport.
(c) Apart from the Police's actions referred to in part (b) above, we understand that, at present, both railway corporations (MTR Corporation Limited and KCR Corporation) deploy staff to man and patrol the stations to keep surveillance on the situation in the stations and provide assistance to passengers, as well as to monitor the situation in the stations through close-circuit television systems. During peak hours, the two railway companies will also deploy staff at the platforms to assist boarding and alighting passengers. In addition, emergency alarm buttons or communication devices have been installed in all train compartments of both railway corporations to allow passengers to communicate with train drivers in case of emergency, so that the railway companies can deploy staff to render assistance and report the case to the Police.
Both railway corporations have also taken into account overseas experience in their consideration as to whether women-only compartments should be designated. The views of the corporations are that due to the walk-through design of the trains in Hong Kong, the establishment of designated women-only compartments will reduce the flexibility of passengers moving between train compartments and have practical enforcement difficulties in controlling passengers from moving between train compartments. Owing to these difficulties in railway operation, and given that the two railway corporations have already adopted the above-mentioned measures to ensure the safety of passengers including female passengers, they have indicated that at present they do not have plans to carry out such arrangements.
The Administration will continue to urge the major public transport operators to adopt all reasonable and practicable measures at all times to prevent any crime from happening.
Ends/Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:15
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