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The Government welcomed the release of the Report on "Sexual Offences Records Checks for Child-Related Work: Interim Proposals" by the Law Reform Commission (LRC), a Security Bureau spokesman said today (February 2).
For protecting children and mentally incapacitated persons (MIPs) against sexual assault from sex offenders, the report recommends that the Administration should establish an administrative scheme that would enable an employer to request a job applicant to apply to the relevant authority for proof as to whether the job applicant has any criminal conviction record for sexual offences, before employing the job applicant for work relating to children and MIPs. The LRC has also made some specific recommendations relating to the implementation of the proposed scheme.
"The Administration has always been highly concerned about sexual offences against children. The police also give high priority to combating these offences," the spokesman said.
"We welcome the recommendations made by the LRC on the setting up of a sexual conviction record check mechanism. The Administration will examine the report's recommendations carefully. When considering the establishment of such a scheme, we have to strike a careful balance between offering protection to children from abuse on one hand, and giving due consideration to the privacy and rehabilitation needs of ex-offenders," the spokesman said.
Ends/Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:36
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