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Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, in the Legislative Council today (June 24):
Question:
At its hearing held in November 2008, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (the Committee) expressed concern about the arrangements and approaches adopted by the law enforcement agencies of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) for conducting body searches on detainees. The Committee put forward improvement proposals and urged the law enforcement agencies of the SAR to comply with the relevant provisions of the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details concerning the use of equipment for conducting body searches on detainees by various law enforcement agencies at present; whether it has plans to study the wider use of equipment to conduct body searches, so as to protect the privacy and dignity of the persons being body-searched; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) among the body searches involving the removal of underwear conducted by various law enforcement agencies in each of the past five years, of the respective numbers of cases in which drugs, weapons, stolen goods and other articles that may be lawfully seized by law enforcement personnel were found and the numbers of persons involved, with a breakdown by the searching method of the three sub-categories of body searches involving the removal of underwear (i.e. (i) looking into underwear, (ii) partial removal of underwear, and (iii) full removal of underwear);
(3) as I have learnt that at present, the Police have put in place rather comprehensive guidelines and record-keeping methods in respect of conducting body searches on detainees (e.g. detailed categorisation of the extents of and justifications for the conduct of body searches), whether the Customs and Excise Department as well as the Immigration Department will follow suit, so as to ensure that detainees will not be subjected to any unnecessary body searches by law enforcement personnel;
(4) whether, in the past five years, the Police, the Customs and Excise Department as well as the Immigration Department studied the use of equipment, in place of the practices involving the removal of clothes and removal of underwear, in conducting body searches on detainees, so as to reduce the intrusion of the privacy of the persons being body-searched; if they did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) whether, in the past five years, the Correctional Services Department examined the effectiveness of using X-ray body scanners in place of manual rectal searches; if it did, of the details; whether the Correctional Services Department has plans to fully implement the use of X-ray body scanners for rectal searches; if it does, of the details?
Reply:
President,
Our reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) to (4) The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and Immigration Department (ImmD) have formulated procedures and guidelines on the conduct of body searches to safeguard the rights of the persons to be searched and prevent any unnecessary searches. Such procedures and guidelines ensure that officers of law enforcement agencies (LEAs), in exercising their power of body search under the law, will, in the light of the purposes of the search and the circumstances of individual cases, adopt the principles of "rationality" and "proportionality" in determining the scope of each search.
Body searches target numerous types of articles. As far as metallic articles are concerned, to facilitate the conduct of body searches, the HKPF, C&ED and ImmD have introduced metal detectors to find out whether the persons being searched conceal any potentially hazardous metallic substances or any crime-related metallic exhibits. Officers of LEAs, depending on the circumstances, may need to conduct further search. There is currently no equipment which can fully replace body search by removal of clothing. LEAs would continue to monitor the relevant technological development and, having regard to the actual needs, introduce appropriate equipment to assist in the conduct of body searches. Moreover, LEAs would review their body search procedures from time to time to ensure effective discharge of their statutory functions on the one hand and safeguard the rights of the persons being searched on the other.
Figures of persons searched by the HKPF, C&ED and ImmD involving removal of underwear or other relevant methods in the past five years are at Annex. LEAs do not maintain the other breakdown as requested in part (2) of the question.
The guidelines and record-keeping requirements of individual LEAs for body searches are drawn up on the basis of their respective responsibilities and job nature. Such guidelines and requirements are reviewed from time to time and revised as necessary.
(5) The Correctional Services Department (CSD) has endeavoured to explore the use of technical equipment to replace manual rectal search in recent years. Since 2012, the CSD has introduced low radiation X-ray body scanners at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre (LCKRC), Pik Uk Correctional Institution, Lo Wu Correctional Institution and Tai Lam Centre for Women to assist officers in checking whether drugs are concealed inside bodies of newly-admitted persons in custody (PICs). In 2013 and 2014, 33 and 32 of such cases were discovered respectively. The CSD has planned to introduce/purchase additional low radiation X-ray body scanners for Lai King Correctional Institution, Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre and LCKRC. Installation works are expected to be completed in 2016. By then, all institutions receiving newly-admitted PICs will be equipped with such scanners.
Ends/Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:37
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