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There has been a significant drop in the number of drink driving related traffic accidents since the introduction of the Random Breath Test (RBT) on February 9 last year.
The remarks was made by the Director of Operations, Mr Hung Hak-wai, today (August 4) at a press conference to review the work of the Police in the first half of 2010.
Mr Hung said that there were 103 drink driving related traffic accidents in the first six months of this year, a decrease of 35 cases (down 25 per cent) when compared with 138 cases in the same period last year.
A total of 492 persons were arrested for drink driving in the first six months, a slight increase by one per cent when compared with 486 arrested persons in the corresponding period last year.
Mr Hung stressed that RBT have achieved a significant deterrent effect and Police action would continue.
Turning to the recent upsurge of drug driving incidents since mid 2009, Mr Hung noted that the issue had urged the need for effective measures and legislation to be implemented.
"The Secretary for Transport and Housing has commissioned an inter-departmental working group in March this year to develop effective legislations to combat drug driving," said Mr Hung, adding that Police was monitoring drug driving incidents closely.
He also took the opportunity to remind members of the public that it was an offence under Section 39 of Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap 374) for a person to drive a motor vehicle on a road while he is under the influence of drink or drugs to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the motor vehicle.
When reviewing the general situation of road safety in Hong Kong, Mr Hung said that the number of traffic accidents and casualties in the first half of 2010 showed a decrease when compared with the same period of 2009.
The number of traffic accidents in the first six months of 2010 was 6,833, representing a decrease of 137 or 2 per cent when compared with 6,970 in the same period last year.
Both the number of fatal traffic accidents and traffic fatalities registered a drop of 21 per cent and 26 per cent respectively during the periods in comparison. The number of fatal traffic accidents decreased by 15 from 70 in the same period last year to 55 this year while that of traffic fatalities also decreased by 20 from 77 in the same period last year to 57 this year.
The overall traffic enforcement actions taken totalled 612,972 in the first half of 2010, representing an increase of one per cent when compared with 603,932 in the same period last year. Enforcement actions were mainly targeted at offences which caused traffic accidents.
Mr Hung pointed out that a series of operations were conducted in the first half of 2010 targeting drink driving, professional drivers and pedestrian offences. On the publicity side, he said anti-drink driving, pedestrian safety and cycling safety are the themes for road safety campaigns in 2010/11.
"We will continue to seek the support of all road users in our efforts to enhance road safety," he added.
Turning to the issue of illegal immigrants, Mr Hung said the number of Mainland illegal immigrants (MIIs) showed an upward trend in the first six months of 2010 and a total of 1,144 MIIs were arrested, representing an increase of 188 MIIs over 956 MIIs in the same period last year.
He said that a total of 73 MIIs were arrested for criminal offences from January to June this year, a decrease of 24 over 97 in the same period last year. The main offences committed by them were theft, forgery and immigration offences. In addition, 203 female MIIs were arrested for prostitution, an increase of 113 over 90 arrested for such offence in the same period of last year.
In the first six months of this year, a total of 163 Vietnamese illegal immigrants (VIIs) were arrested, a decrease of 92 over 255 VIIs arrested in the same period last year. Fifty-seven of them were arrested for committing crimes, a decrease of 44 over 101 in the same period last year. The main offences committed by them were forgery, theft and immigration offences.
"A total of 179 non-ethnic Chinese illegal immigrants (NEC IIs) were arrested between January and June this year, a drastic decrease of 421 over 600 NEC IIs arrested in the same period last year," he continued.
Eight of these NEC IIs were arrested for committing crimes, a decrease of 13 over 21 in the same period last year. The main offences committed by them was using ID card relating to another.
Regarding the crimes committed by Mainland visitors (MVs), Mr Hung said from January to June in 2010, there were 10.37 million MV arrivals, of which 573 were arrested for committing criminal offences, a decrease of 65 when compared with 638 in the same period last year. The main offences committed by the MVs were theft, forgery and serious immigration offences.
Between January and June this year, 1,698 MVs were arrested for involvement in prostitution, representing 0.7 per cent increase when compared with 1,687 in the same period last year.
For the past six months, the Force has taken a series of actions with other departments and arrested 615 illegal Mainland workers, which represented a decrease of 33.3 per cent when compared with 922 in the same period last year.
Mr Hung said that the decreasing trend of the overall illegal immigrants (IIs) in the first half of 2010 was attributed to the continuous focus on the interdiction and enhancement of the security measures on both land and sea boundary.
"Our continuation of liaison, communication and intelligence exchange with the Mainland's counterparts secured the most updated situation for our assessment and appropriate deployment, and showed the effectiveness in combating the IIs," he added.
Police Report No. 4
Ends/Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Issued at HKT 22:36
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