VENEREAL DISEASES ORDINANCE
Title
VENEREAL DISEASES ORDINANCE
Description
GRDINA,\CE No.' 12 of 1$57.
YenereaZ Diseases.
No. 12 of 1857.
An Ordinance for Checking the spread of Yenereal Diseases. Tltla:
24th November, 1857.]
WHEREAS it is expedient to make provision for checking the spread of
venereal
diseases within this Colony: Be it therefore enacted by His Excellency the
Governor of Hongkong, with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof,
as follows:
1: In the interpretation of this Ordinance, tile following words or
phrases'shall Definition of
terms.
have the respective meanings hereby assigned to them, that is to say,-
'Prostitute' shall mean any woman who shall live or reside in a registered
or a declared brotbel.
'Declared Brothel' shall mean any house in which women live or reside,
or which they frequent, for the purposes of prostitution, and which
shall in any judicial proceedings under this Ordinance be sworn or
deposed to be such by any two witnesses; or which sball be declared to
be such, by the Registrar General.
'Registered Brothel' shall mean any house in which women live or are kept
for the purposes of prostitution, and which shall be certified to be such
in writing by the Registrar General, and which sball be entered and
numbered on a list or register of such houses to be kept by the Registrar
General,
2. From and after the passing of this Ordinance no person shall keep a
brothel elltbrethels to be-
registered, and
within the Colony of Hongkong, unless the same be registered, nor unless
the same be to he withhl
certain districts.
within one or other of the following districts or portions of districts,
Namely,-Ha-wall,
from Spring Gardens eastward,- Sei-ing-pooh, from the junction of
Hollywood Road
and Queen's Road West westward, and Tai-ping-sban, except such parts of
such
districts or portions of districts as face the Queen's Road; and if any
person shall be
convicted of keeping a brothel outside of such districts as aforesaid, or
an unregistered
brothel within the same, such person shall, for the first offence, be
sentenced to pay a
fine not exceeding one hundred current dollars, or to imprisonment, with
or without
bard labour, for a term not exceeding three months, and for the second
offence to pay
a fine not exceeding two hundred current dollars, or to imprisonment;
with or without
hard labour, for a term not exceeding six months, and for the third
offence to pay a
fine.not exceeding five hundred current dollars, or to imprisonment for a
term not
exceeding twelve months: Provided always, that it may be lawful for the
Magistrate
before whom such offender shall be brought to punish such offender both
by fine and
imprisonment, or by one or other of such modes according to his
discretion; and
nothing herein contained shall be taken to bar any person from indicting
any brothel
whatsoever as a nuisance.
Preamble.
lbnaltlcs.
Brothels Maybe!
Proceeded -
against as-nifi-
-
sances.-
ORDINANCE 1\'o.. 12- OF; 1'857°.
Venereal. Naeases:
l;ponthethird 3. Upon the occasion of any person being for the third time
convicted of such
convictiun tor
keeping a brothel offence as is aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the
Magistrate before whom such conviction .
contrary to
provisions shall take place, by warrant under his hand, to remove all the
inmates of the house
amtnpthehouse wherein such offender shall have dwelt or resided, and to
close up such house, and
in wh the
same 3a kept forbid the same to be reinhabited, unless be shall be
satisfied that the same will,.bg,.
occupied in a proper and legal manner, and not as a brothel within the
meaning of t#
Ordinance, if situated outside of the aforesaid districts, or, either as
a registered
brothel, or in any other proper and legal manner, if within the said
districts or any of,
them; and that every person reinhabiting such house, without a licence or
permission
{« see oo d.:vo. s under the hand of the * Chief or Assistant Magistrate,
shall be liable to a penalty-
or Iss2,1
of not more than five hundred current dollars, or to imprisonment for a
term not
exceeding twelve months.
4. The averment of two witnesses made on oath or by affirmation, * that
any
house is occupied as a brothel, may be received as sufficient evidence of
such fact; arid
any person who shall appear, act, or behave himself or herself as master
or mistress, or
as the person having the care or management of any brothel-, shall be
deemed and
taken to be the keeper thereof, and shall be liable to be punished as
sucb, notwithstand-
ing he or she shall not, in fact, be the real owner or keeper thereof.
g. The Registrar General shall keep a register of all brothels, and shall
enter in
such register the names of the keeper of each of such brothels, and also
of the
immediate landlord or lessor thereof, also of the Crown lessee or tenant
of the plot of
ground on which the same may be standing or built, and shall keep it
corrected from
time to time, according as such keeper, immediate landlord or lessor, or
Crown lessee
or tenant, respectively, may change, and according as any such house
shall cease at
any time to be occupied as a brothel; and shall furnish the Colonial
Secretary with a
copy of such register, and shall inform him from time to time of such
corrections as,
may from time to time be made in such register as aforesaid.
8. Whenever any house shall be, in the opinion of the Registrar General,
a house
in which women reside,, or which they frequent for the purposes of
prostitution; the'
Registrar General shall forthwith declare such house to be a brothel, and
shall--oiv®
notice to the immediate landlord or lessor thereof, or- if such immediate
landlord-or
'
lessor cannot be found or ascertained, then to the Crown lessee of the
plot of ground `
on which the same be built, that such house has been declared by him to
be a brofhel^
and as such, comes within the provisions of the second and third sections
of this
Ordinance; and in case such immediate landlord or Crown lessee or tenant'
stall
dispute such declaration of the Registrar General, then the party so
disputing such
declaration shall have an appeal to the Chief or Assistant Magistrate, or
to any`two
Justices of the Peace sitting for either of such Magistrates, who are
hereby empowered
to adjudicate on such appeals, and whose decision thereon shall be final.
Registered 7. Brothels registered under the provisions of section 5 of
this Ordinance, shall'
viiieanycbe
ai be liable to be visited by the Registrar General, and by the
Superintendent; Deputy
-officers.
Superintendent, and Inspectors of Police, and by the Colonial Surgeon
-or' othvr'~
Diode of proof
that a house la
.a brothel.
{'See Ord. No. 2
of 1860.1
Registrar «ener-
wl to keep a
register uP
brothels, with
names of
keepers, S,c.
Brothels declared
to be each by the
Registrar Gener-
Appeni.
ORDINANCE No. 12, of 1867.
Venereal Diseases.
medical officer to be from time to time appointed under the provisions of
this Ordinance;
and the Registrar General and such several officers as aforesaid are
hereby empowered
to visit and inspect the condition of such brothels; and the Colonial
Surgeon or such
other medical officer as aforesaid is hereby empowered and required to
visit each one
of such registered brothels, and inspect and examine each one of the
inmates therein
at least once in every ten days.
S. Every keeper, mistress, or manager of a registered brothel, shall once
in every reepera of
brothels to
week furnish the Registrar General with a true report of the condition of
health of furnish the Re-
gistrar General
each and every of the inmates of the same. with weekly lists
y of Inmates, &c.
9. In every registered brothel there shall be kept suspended, iii some
public place,
a board, containing, in the English and Chinese languages, a list of the
names and ages
of the inmates then resident in the house, and such list shall be altered
from time to
time according as any inmate may be absent therefrom, either by reason of
leaving
such house altogether, or of being removed therefrom either to gaol or
hospital under
the provisions of this Ordinance.
10. Any brothel keeper or prostitute who shall offer any obstacle to, or
refuse to
admit such Registrar General, Superintendent;-or Inspector of Police, for
the purpose
of making such inspection as aforesaid, or shall refuse to submit to such
inspection or
examination by the Colonial Surgeon or such other medical officer as
aforesaid, or shall
furnish a wilfully false report of the condition of health of the inmates
as is herein
required, or shall not keep suspended such list of such inmates, and keep
the same
altered or corrected from time to time as is herein required, as the case
may be, shall
for each offence be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred
current dollars,
or may be imprisoned with or without hard labour for any time not
exceeding three
months.
11. Every prostitute, or inmate of a registered brothel, who shall be at
any time
declared by the Colonial Surgeon or such other medical officer as
aforesaid to be
affected with any venereal disease, shall be, by order of the Registrar
General given
under his band, removed to such hospital as shall be built or set apart
for women
affected with venereal diseases, under the lirovisions of this Ordinance,
and such
prostitute shall be kept under the control of the medical officer of such
hospital, and
shall not leave or attempt to leavb the same until properly discharged as
cured by such
medical officer; and on every occasion of discharging any such prostitute
from the
said hospital as cured the medical officer so discharging such prostitute
shall give her
a certificate under his band of having been so discharged, which
certificate, should such
prostitute return to a brothel, is to be produced and shown to the
Registrar General,
or to the Superintendent or Inspectors of Police, whensoever the
production of the
same shall be by him or them demanded; and any prostitute who shall
during her
continuance in such hospital refuse to submit to or obey the directions
of the medical'
officer thereof, or shall leave or attempt to leave the same until she be
properly
diseharged as,cured as aforesaid, shall be liable to be imprisoned with
or without hard
Lists of inmates,
ft. to be kept
ansponded in
oath brothel.
Penalty for
offering any
obstacle to visits
of proper oftlccrs
dcc.
Women affected
with any venereal.
disease to be
removed to
hospital.
Expenses of any
woman while in
hospital, to be
sill by the
paid of the
brothel whence
each woman~ehall
have been
removed.
Prostitutes in-
fecting healthy
persons liable to
punishment.
:1Ionies collected
by way of fees
tinder tills
Ordinance to ga
to the formatf6n
'nf a general Am d
for t~otnrRpsea
of the Ordinance.
pny oP th a Co-
alonial 8nrgoon or
other medical
.officer appointed
tinder rids
Ordinance.
ORDINflTN`CE No.; 12 of 1$57.
Venereal- Diseases.
labour for any time not exceeding three months; and the expenses which
may,bi~,
incurred in and about the maintenance and treatment of any such
prostitute in such,
hospital shall be a debt due to the Crown, and shall be paid by the
keeper of the-,
brothel of which such prostitute shall have been au inmate, or from which
she shall
have been so removed, and the wine in case of non-payment shall be sued
for .and.
recovered by the Registrar General. ,-
12. If any prostitute labouring under a venereal disease shall, to the
satisfaction I
of the Chief or Assistant Magistrate, bs proved to have infected any
person with such,
disease, such prostitute, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by
imprisonment'
either in gaol or hospital for a term not exceeding three mouths, and the
keeper of the~
brothel in which such prostitute shall be found shall in every such case
be fi.17ed a
penalty not exceeding two hundred current dollars. w
rreryheeperof 13. Every keeper of a registered brothel shall pay to the
Registrar' General or-
)V 1)tethel t0 pay
amonthlyannt. his collector the sum of four current dollars per inensem,
which the Registrar General
is hereby empowered to demand and collect, and all such sums are to be
paid by the-'
Registrar General into the Colonial Treasury.
14. All monies collected under or by virtue of sections 13 and 19 are to
be appro.
priated to the formation of a general fund for the purposes of this
Ordinance, out o£:
which a monthly sum (to be fixed by His Excellency in Council) is to be
paid to t>ie-
(,Ioleninl Surgeon, or to such other medical officer as may be from .time
:to -timo .
appointed for the purposes of this Ordinance, under the provisions of
section 7; as his-
remuneration for performing the duties required or imposed by this
Ordinance; .and
the said Colonial Surgeon, or such other medical officer as aforesaid, is
Hereby em
powered (with the sanction of His Excellency the Governor) to nominate or
appoint,&
deputy or assistant, being a person properly qualified to act for him, in
case be shall-
be at any time incapacitated or unable to perform such dutieq, or any
portion of them
xeopersof 15. Every keeper of a registered brothel shall be ,allowed, upon
giving notice
brothels nary
employ con: thereof to the Superintendent of Police, and obtaining his
authority, to employ aE
tar theirpretrr- constable for the protection of, and the preservation of
order in such brothel, such con-,
tion, ~e.
stables to be under the control of, and responsible to, and to be paid
by, the Supexin-.,
tendent of Police, and to wean a uniform to be chosen for the purpose,
but to be solely ,
employed about the protection of the brothel by the keeper of which each
of them is-
,t;nrlt eonsrthiea employed; and every keeper of a brothel so employing
such special constable as siege:-
to be under the
control, a;e.of said shall pay quarterly in advance to the Superintendent
of Police, a sum sufficient ta-
tho Super-
intendent of cover the expenses which may be incurred in payment of the
wages of and providing
7blire.
the uniform for such constable, and such sum shall in case of
non-paymeut.be erred for
and recovered by the Superintendent of Police.
A hospital for 16. A hospital shall be built, or premises in the first
instance hired, exclusively.
women to be
built. Provisions
for renting for the reception and treatment of women affected with
venereal diseases, the cost of~
auitabie premises
Sn the meantime renting such premises to be defrayed out of the farad to
be raised under sections IS hall .
b
n~9~niaies tan be 19, and the remainder of the monies which shall from
time to time be collectedsund.~9:
the saidaections, over and above such sums as shall be applied in
-payment:0t>?
ORDINANCE No. 12 of 1557.
lrenereal Diseases.
-Colonial Surgeon, or such other medical officer as aforesaid, and in
payment of the
expenses of renting and maintaining such premises as aforesaid, shall go
and be applied
to the formation of a fund for tile purpose of building, fitting up, and
maintaining such
hospital, and enlarging the same from time to time as may be required;
and all fees
directed to be levied and paid by section 13, in case of non-payment,
shall be sued for
and recovered by the Registrar General, who shall pay the same into the
Colonial
`Treasury.
1'7. Every keeper of a licensed boarding house for seamen shall furnish
to the
Harbour Master, once in every week, a list of seamen then resident in his
house, and
shall report in such list as to the state of health of each seamen so far
as he may be able
to ascertain the same; and every seaman who may be reported or may be
otherwise
.discovered to be affected with a venereal disease, unless then under
medical treatment,
shall be removed by warrant under the hand of the Harbour Master to a
hospital,
where he shell be kept until he be, by the medical attendants thereof,
discharged as
cured, and shall have obtained from such medical attendants a certificate
of his having
been so discharged, which certificate he shall produce and show to the
Harbour Master
when required so to do; and the expenses which may be incurred in and
about the
maintenance and treatment o£ any such seaman in such hospital, shall be a
debt due to
Keepers of
licensed
boarding house
to flirnisb the
Harbour Nastor
with weekly lists
of the acumen .
resident in their
houses.
Diseased searoeir
to be re.ntoVed
to huspitnl.
the Crown, and shall be paid by such seaman; or, in case of the keeper of
the boarding
house in which such seaman shall have resided before his removal to
hospital not
having reported, or having made a false report as to the state of health
of such seaman,
then such expenses shall be paid by such boarding house keeper, in ease
it shall appear
to, and be certified by, the Colonial Surgeon- or his deputy, or the
medical attendants,
of the hospital to which such seaman may be removed, that the disease
with which he
maybe affected is of such a nature as that the keeper of the boarding
house could, with
ordinary and reasonable observation, have ascertained its existence; and
in all cases
such expenses shall in ease of non-payment be sued for and recovered by
tile Harbour
Master on behalf of the hospital.
18. If any seaman affected with a venereal disease, and reported so to be
by the
keeper of the boarding house in which such seaman may be residing, shall
refuse or
offer any hindrance or obstruction to his removal to hospital; or, having
been removed
to hospital, shall attempt to leave the same before he shall be properly
discharged cured;
or having been discharged cured, shall refuse to produce his certificate
of discharge
when required by the Harbour Master or his deputy authorized to demand
the same;
-or being affected with a venereal disease, shall neglect or refuse to
inform the keeper of
the boarding house in which he may be residing,-then, and in every such
case, such
seaman so offending shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five
current dollars,
-or. to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any time not
exceeding one month.
19. The master of any merchant ship, before shipping any seaman, may
require
that such seaman shall be inspected by the Colonial Surgeon or other
medical officer
Penalty for
offering any
obstruction to
removal to
-hospital, d.C'.
Masters of shiplq
before shipping
seamen may
require thattbey
who may be appointed for such purpose in connection with the Harbour
Master,s be inspected.
Department, and who is, hereby required to attend al .stated..hours in
the forenoon and
ORDIN.ANU No,., 12 of 1857.
Ve>eereal Diseases.
Imlwignument '
nmy no either in
gaol or hospital.
From whom fines
may be
recovered.
No trade to be
carried on in any
brothel.
Monies raised
under tills
Ordinance to be
applied solely to
the purposes of
the Ordinance.
Power to Gov-
ernor to mane
bye-laws and
regulations.
Penalties bow to
7m recovered.
,afternoon of each day at the Harbour Master's Office for the purposes of
such inspec-
tion; and the Colonial Surgeon or such other medical officer upon such
inspection is to
give a certificate under his hand as to the state of health of such
seaman, which certi-
ficate such seaman is to produce and show to the master of the ship in
which he may
be about to serve; and for every such certificate there shall be paid the
fee of fifty
cents, to be paid by the master or agent of the ship in case such seaman
should prove-
to be in sound health, and by the seaman himself or the boarding house
keeper with
whom he shall be residing in case he shall prove to be affected with any
venereal
disease; such fee to be received by the Harbour Master, and in case of
non-payment-to
be sued for and recovered by him, and paid into the Colonial Treasury for
the purposes.
of this Ordinance.
20. In all cases where punishment by imprisonment shall be inflicted
under this
Ordinance, such imprisonment may be either in gaol or in hospital, and
may be either
with or without hard labour as the Court shall adjudge.
21. In all cases in which fines shall be imposed under the provisions of
any sec-
tion of this Ordinance, and the brothel keeper on whom such fine shall be
imposed
shall be unable to pay or discharge the same, then the same shall be
recovered from
the immediate landlord or lessor of such house; and in case such landlord
or lessor be
not known or cannot be ascertained, then from the Crown lessee of the
plot of ground.
on which such house may be erected or built, provided it be proved to the
satisfaction
of the Magistrate, that such Crown lessee was cognisant of the purposes
for which such
house shall have been let or occupied.
22. No house in which any trade or business shall be carried on shall be
registered,
ox be capable of becoming a registered brothel under the provisions of
this Ordinance.
2$. No monies which shall be raised under the provisions of this
Ordinance by
way of any foe shall at any time be applied or applicable to any purposes
other than or
different from the specific purposes for which the same are to be raised,
and to which
they are to be applied under the provisions of this Ordinance.
24. His Excellency in Council is hereby empowered from time to time to
make
such regulations and bye-laws as may be deemed necessary for carrying
into effect-the
provisions of this Ordinance, and for the regulation and control of
registered brothel&within the aforesaid districts.
25. All cases arising under this Ordinance shall be tried and adjudicated
by, and
all fines and penalties herein mentioned, and all sums herein declared to
be recoveca>ile,
shall be sued for and recovered before, any Magistrate of Police, either
singly, or any
two or morn Justices of the Peace in the manner provided by Ordinance No:
10 of 1844,
entituled 'An Ordinance to regulate Summary Proceedings before Justices
of the Peace,,
and to protect Justices in the Execution of their Duty.'
,[Repealed by Ordinance No. v0 of 1867.]
Title.
Preamble.
Definition of terms.
Allbrothels to be registered, and to be within certain districts.
Penalties.
Brothels may be proceeded against as nuisances.
Upon the third conviction for keeping a brothel contrary to provisions of this Ordinance, Magistrate may shut up the house in which the same is kept.
[* See Ord. No. 6 of 1862.]
Mode of proof that a house is a brothel.
[* See Ord. No. 2 of 1860.]
Register of brothels, with names of keepers, &c.
Brothels declared to be such by the Registrar General.
Appeal.
Registered brothels to be visited by certain officers.
Keepers of brothels to furnish the Registrar General with weekly lists of inmates, &c.
Lists of inmates, &c. to be kept suspended in each brothel.
Penalty for offering any obstacle to visits of proper officers &c.
Women affected with any venereal disease to be removed to hospital.
Expenses of any woman while in hospital, to be paid by the keeper of the brothel whence such woman shall have been removed.
Prostitutes infecting healthy persons liable to punishment.
Every keeper of a brothel to pay a monthly sum.
Monies collected by way of fees under this Ordinance to go to the formation of a general fund for the purposes of the Ordinance.
Pay of the Colonial Surgeon or other medical officer appointed under this Ordinance.
Keepers of brothels may employ constables specially for their protection, &c.
Such constables to be under the control, &c. of the Superintendent of Police.
A hospital for women to be built. Provisions for renting suitable premises in the menatime until such hospital shall be built.
Keepers of licensed boarding house to furnish the Harbour Master with weekly lists of the seamen resident in their houses.
Diseased seamen to be removed to hospital.
Penalty for offering any obstruction to removal to hospital, &c.
Masters of ships before shipping seamen may require that they be inspected.
Imprisonment may be either in gaol or hospital.
From whom fines may be recovered.
No trade to be carried on in any brothel.
Monies raised under this Ordinance to be applied solely to the purposes of the Ordinance.
Power to Governor to make bye-laws and regulations.
Penalties how to be recovered.
YenereaZ Diseases.
No. 12 of 1857.
An Ordinance for Checking the spread of Yenereal Diseases. Tltla:
24th November, 1857.]
WHEREAS it is expedient to make provision for checking the spread of
venereal
diseases within this Colony: Be it therefore enacted by His Excellency the
Governor of Hongkong, with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof,
as follows:
1: In the interpretation of this Ordinance, tile following words or
phrases'shall Definition of
terms.
have the respective meanings hereby assigned to them, that is to say,-
'Prostitute' shall mean any woman who shall live or reside in a registered
or a declared brotbel.
'Declared Brothel' shall mean any house in which women live or reside,
or which they frequent, for the purposes of prostitution, and which
shall in any judicial proceedings under this Ordinance be sworn or
deposed to be such by any two witnesses; or which sball be declared to
be such, by the Registrar General.
'Registered Brothel' shall mean any house in which women live or are kept
for the purposes of prostitution, and which shall be certified to be such
in writing by the Registrar General, and which sball be entered and
numbered on a list or register of such houses to be kept by the Registrar
General,
2. From and after the passing of this Ordinance no person shall keep a
brothel elltbrethels to be-
registered, and
within the Colony of Hongkong, unless the same be registered, nor unless
the same be to he withhl
certain districts.
within one or other of the following districts or portions of districts,
Namely,-Ha-wall,
from Spring Gardens eastward,- Sei-ing-pooh, from the junction of
Hollywood Road
and Queen's Road West westward, and Tai-ping-sban, except such parts of
such
districts or portions of districts as face the Queen's Road; and if any
person shall be
convicted of keeping a brothel outside of such districts as aforesaid, or
an unregistered
brothel within the same, such person shall, for the first offence, be
sentenced to pay a
fine not exceeding one hundred current dollars, or to imprisonment, with
or without
bard labour, for a term not exceeding three months, and for the second
offence to pay
a fine not exceeding two hundred current dollars, or to imprisonment;
with or without
hard labour, for a term not exceeding six months, and for the third
offence to pay a
fine.not exceeding five hundred current dollars, or to imprisonment for a
term not
exceeding twelve months: Provided always, that it may be lawful for the
Magistrate
before whom such offender shall be brought to punish such offender both
by fine and
imprisonment, or by one or other of such modes according to his
discretion; and
nothing herein contained shall be taken to bar any person from indicting
any brothel
whatsoever as a nuisance.
Preamble.
lbnaltlcs.
Brothels Maybe!
Proceeded -
against as-nifi-
-
sances.-
ORDINANCE 1\'o.. 12- OF; 1'857°.
Venereal. Naeases:
l;ponthethird 3. Upon the occasion of any person being for the third time
convicted of such
convictiun tor
keeping a brothel offence as is aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the
Magistrate before whom such conviction .
contrary to
provisions shall take place, by warrant under his hand, to remove all the
inmates of the house
amtnpthehouse wherein such offender shall have dwelt or resided, and to
close up such house, and
in wh the
same 3a kept forbid the same to be reinhabited, unless be shall be
satisfied that the same will,.bg,.
occupied in a proper and legal manner, and not as a brothel within the
meaning of t#
Ordinance, if situated outside of the aforesaid districts, or, either as
a registered
brothel, or in any other proper and legal manner, if within the said
districts or any of,
them; and that every person reinhabiting such house, without a licence or
permission
{« see oo d.:vo. s under the hand of the * Chief or Assistant Magistrate,
shall be liable to a penalty-
or Iss2,1
of not more than five hundred current dollars, or to imprisonment for a
term not
exceeding twelve months.
4. The averment of two witnesses made on oath or by affirmation, * that
any
house is occupied as a brothel, may be received as sufficient evidence of
such fact; arid
any person who shall appear, act, or behave himself or herself as master
or mistress, or
as the person having the care or management of any brothel-, shall be
deemed and
taken to be the keeper thereof, and shall be liable to be punished as
sucb, notwithstand-
ing he or she shall not, in fact, be the real owner or keeper thereof.
g. The Registrar General shall keep a register of all brothels, and shall
enter in
such register the names of the keeper of each of such brothels, and also
of the
immediate landlord or lessor thereof, also of the Crown lessee or tenant
of the plot of
ground on which the same may be standing or built, and shall keep it
corrected from
time to time, according as such keeper, immediate landlord or lessor, or
Crown lessee
or tenant, respectively, may change, and according as any such house
shall cease at
any time to be occupied as a brothel; and shall furnish the Colonial
Secretary with a
copy of such register, and shall inform him from time to time of such
corrections as,
may from time to time be made in such register as aforesaid.
8. Whenever any house shall be, in the opinion of the Registrar General,
a house
in which women reside,, or which they frequent for the purposes of
prostitution; the'
Registrar General shall forthwith declare such house to be a brothel, and
shall--oiv®
notice to the immediate landlord or lessor thereof, or- if such immediate
landlord-or
'
lessor cannot be found or ascertained, then to the Crown lessee of the
plot of ground `
on which the same be built, that such house has been declared by him to
be a brofhel^
and as such, comes within the provisions of the second and third sections
of this
Ordinance; and in case such immediate landlord or Crown lessee or tenant'
stall
dispute such declaration of the Registrar General, then the party so
disputing such
declaration shall have an appeal to the Chief or Assistant Magistrate, or
to any`two
Justices of the Peace sitting for either of such Magistrates, who are
hereby empowered
to adjudicate on such appeals, and whose decision thereon shall be final.
Registered 7. Brothels registered under the provisions of section 5 of
this Ordinance, shall'
viiieanycbe
ai be liable to be visited by the Registrar General, and by the
Superintendent; Deputy
-officers.
Superintendent, and Inspectors of Police, and by the Colonial Surgeon
-or' othvr'~
Diode of proof
that a house la
.a brothel.
{'See Ord. No. 2
of 1860.1
Registrar «ener-
wl to keep a
register uP
brothels, with
names of
keepers, S,c.
Brothels declared
to be each by the
Registrar Gener-
Appeni.
ORDINANCE No. 12, of 1867.
Venereal Diseases.
medical officer to be from time to time appointed under the provisions of
this Ordinance;
and the Registrar General and such several officers as aforesaid are
hereby empowered
to visit and inspect the condition of such brothels; and the Colonial
Surgeon or such
other medical officer as aforesaid is hereby empowered and required to
visit each one
of such registered brothels, and inspect and examine each one of the
inmates therein
at least once in every ten days.
S. Every keeper, mistress, or manager of a registered brothel, shall once
in every reepera of
brothels to
week furnish the Registrar General with a true report of the condition of
health of furnish the Re-
gistrar General
each and every of the inmates of the same. with weekly lists
y of Inmates, &c.
9. In every registered brothel there shall be kept suspended, iii some
public place,
a board, containing, in the English and Chinese languages, a list of the
names and ages
of the inmates then resident in the house, and such list shall be altered
from time to
time according as any inmate may be absent therefrom, either by reason of
leaving
such house altogether, or of being removed therefrom either to gaol or
hospital under
the provisions of this Ordinance.
10. Any brothel keeper or prostitute who shall offer any obstacle to, or
refuse to
admit such Registrar General, Superintendent;-or Inspector of Police, for
the purpose
of making such inspection as aforesaid, or shall refuse to submit to such
inspection or
examination by the Colonial Surgeon or such other medical officer as
aforesaid, or shall
furnish a wilfully false report of the condition of health of the inmates
as is herein
required, or shall not keep suspended such list of such inmates, and keep
the same
altered or corrected from time to time as is herein required, as the case
may be, shall
for each offence be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred
current dollars,
or may be imprisoned with or without hard labour for any time not
exceeding three
months.
11. Every prostitute, or inmate of a registered brothel, who shall be at
any time
declared by the Colonial Surgeon or such other medical officer as
aforesaid to be
affected with any venereal disease, shall be, by order of the Registrar
General given
under his band, removed to such hospital as shall be built or set apart
for women
affected with venereal diseases, under the lirovisions of this Ordinance,
and such
prostitute shall be kept under the control of the medical officer of such
hospital, and
shall not leave or attempt to leavb the same until properly discharged as
cured by such
medical officer; and on every occasion of discharging any such prostitute
from the
said hospital as cured the medical officer so discharging such prostitute
shall give her
a certificate under his band of having been so discharged, which
certificate, should such
prostitute return to a brothel, is to be produced and shown to the
Registrar General,
or to the Superintendent or Inspectors of Police, whensoever the
production of the
same shall be by him or them demanded; and any prostitute who shall
during her
continuance in such hospital refuse to submit to or obey the directions
of the medical'
officer thereof, or shall leave or attempt to leave the same until she be
properly
diseharged as,cured as aforesaid, shall be liable to be imprisoned with
or without hard
Lists of inmates,
ft. to be kept
ansponded in
oath brothel.
Penalty for
offering any
obstacle to visits
of proper oftlccrs
dcc.
Women affected
with any venereal.
disease to be
removed to
hospital.
Expenses of any
woman while in
hospital, to be
sill by the
paid of the
brothel whence
each woman~ehall
have been
removed.
Prostitutes in-
fecting healthy
persons liable to
punishment.
:1Ionies collected
by way of fees
tinder tills
Ordinance to ga
to the formatf6n
'nf a general Am d
for t~otnrRpsea
of the Ordinance.
pny oP th a Co-
alonial 8nrgoon or
other medical
.officer appointed
tinder rids
Ordinance.
ORDINflTN`CE No.; 12 of 1$57.
Venereal- Diseases.
labour for any time not exceeding three months; and the expenses which
may,bi~,
incurred in and about the maintenance and treatment of any such
prostitute in such,
hospital shall be a debt due to the Crown, and shall be paid by the
keeper of the-,
brothel of which such prostitute shall have been au inmate, or from which
she shall
have been so removed, and the wine in case of non-payment shall be sued
for .and.
recovered by the Registrar General. ,-
12. If any prostitute labouring under a venereal disease shall, to the
satisfaction I
of the Chief or Assistant Magistrate, bs proved to have infected any
person with such,
disease, such prostitute, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by
imprisonment'
either in gaol or hospital for a term not exceeding three mouths, and the
keeper of the~
brothel in which such prostitute shall be found shall in every such case
be fi.17ed a
penalty not exceeding two hundred current dollars. w
rreryheeperof 13. Every keeper of a registered brothel shall pay to the
Registrar' General or-
)V 1)tethel t0 pay
amonthlyannt. his collector the sum of four current dollars per inensem,
which the Registrar General
is hereby empowered to demand and collect, and all such sums are to be
paid by the-'
Registrar General into the Colonial Treasury.
14. All monies collected under or by virtue of sections 13 and 19 are to
be appro.
priated to the formation of a general fund for the purposes of this
Ordinance, out o£:
which a monthly sum (to be fixed by His Excellency in Council) is to be
paid to t>ie-
(,Ioleninl Surgeon, or to such other medical officer as may be from .time
:to -timo .
appointed for the purposes of this Ordinance, under the provisions of
section 7; as his-
remuneration for performing the duties required or imposed by this
Ordinance; .and
the said Colonial Surgeon, or such other medical officer as aforesaid, is
Hereby em
powered (with the sanction of His Excellency the Governor) to nominate or
appoint,&
deputy or assistant, being a person properly qualified to act for him, in
case be shall-
be at any time incapacitated or unable to perform such dutieq, or any
portion of them
xeopersof 15. Every keeper of a registered brothel shall be ,allowed, upon
giving notice
brothels nary
employ con: thereof to the Superintendent of Police, and obtaining his
authority, to employ aE
tar theirpretrr- constable for the protection of, and the preservation of
order in such brothel, such con-,
tion, ~e.
stables to be under the control of, and responsible to, and to be paid
by, the Supexin-.,
tendent of Police, and to wean a uniform to be chosen for the purpose,
but to be solely ,
employed about the protection of the brothel by the keeper of which each
of them is-
,t;nrlt eonsrthiea employed; and every keeper of a brothel so employing
such special constable as siege:-
to be under the
control, a;e.of said shall pay quarterly in advance to the Superintendent
of Police, a sum sufficient ta-
tho Super-
intendent of cover the expenses which may be incurred in payment of the
wages of and providing
7blire.
the uniform for such constable, and such sum shall in case of
non-paymeut.be erred for
and recovered by the Superintendent of Police.
A hospital for 16. A hospital shall be built, or premises in the first
instance hired, exclusively.
women to be
built. Provisions
for renting for the reception and treatment of women affected with
venereal diseases, the cost of~
auitabie premises
Sn the meantime renting such premises to be defrayed out of the farad to
be raised under sections IS hall .
b
n~9~niaies tan be 19, and the remainder of the monies which shall from
time to time be collectedsund.~9:
the saidaections, over and above such sums as shall be applied in
-payment:0t>?
ORDINANCE No. 12 of 1557.
lrenereal Diseases.
-Colonial Surgeon, or such other medical officer as aforesaid, and in
payment of the
expenses of renting and maintaining such premises as aforesaid, shall go
and be applied
to the formation of a fund for tile purpose of building, fitting up, and
maintaining such
hospital, and enlarging the same from time to time as may be required;
and all fees
directed to be levied and paid by section 13, in case of non-payment,
shall be sued for
and recovered by the Registrar General, who shall pay the same into the
Colonial
`Treasury.
1'7. Every keeper of a licensed boarding house for seamen shall furnish
to the
Harbour Master, once in every week, a list of seamen then resident in his
house, and
shall report in such list as to the state of health of each seamen so far
as he may be able
to ascertain the same; and every seaman who may be reported or may be
otherwise
.discovered to be affected with a venereal disease, unless then under
medical treatment,
shall be removed by warrant under the hand of the Harbour Master to a
hospital,
where he shell be kept until he be, by the medical attendants thereof,
discharged as
cured, and shall have obtained from such medical attendants a certificate
of his having
been so discharged, which certificate he shall produce and show to the
Harbour Master
when required so to do; and the expenses which may be incurred in and
about the
maintenance and treatment o£ any such seaman in such hospital, shall be a
debt due to
Keepers of
licensed
boarding house
to flirnisb the
Harbour Nastor
with weekly lists
of the acumen .
resident in their
houses.
Diseased searoeir
to be re.ntoVed
to huspitnl.
the Crown, and shall be paid by such seaman; or, in case of the keeper of
the boarding
house in which such seaman shall have resided before his removal to
hospital not
having reported, or having made a false report as to the state of health
of such seaman,
then such expenses shall be paid by such boarding house keeper, in ease
it shall appear
to, and be certified by, the Colonial Surgeon- or his deputy, or the
medical attendants,
of the hospital to which such seaman may be removed, that the disease
with which he
maybe affected is of such a nature as that the keeper of the boarding
house could, with
ordinary and reasonable observation, have ascertained its existence; and
in all cases
such expenses shall in ease of non-payment be sued for and recovered by
tile Harbour
Master on behalf of the hospital.
18. If any seaman affected with a venereal disease, and reported so to be
by the
keeper of the boarding house in which such seaman may be residing, shall
refuse or
offer any hindrance or obstruction to his removal to hospital; or, having
been removed
to hospital, shall attempt to leave the same before he shall be properly
discharged cured;
or having been discharged cured, shall refuse to produce his certificate
of discharge
when required by the Harbour Master or his deputy authorized to demand
the same;
-or being affected with a venereal disease, shall neglect or refuse to
inform the keeper of
the boarding house in which he may be residing,-then, and in every such
case, such
seaman so offending shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five
current dollars,
-or. to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any time not
exceeding one month.
19. The master of any merchant ship, before shipping any seaman, may
require
that such seaman shall be inspected by the Colonial Surgeon or other
medical officer
Penalty for
offering any
obstruction to
removal to
-hospital, d.C'.
Masters of shiplq
before shipping
seamen may
require thattbey
who may be appointed for such purpose in connection with the Harbour
Master,s be inspected.
Department, and who is, hereby required to attend al .stated..hours in
the forenoon and
ORDIN.ANU No,., 12 of 1857.
Ve>eereal Diseases.
Imlwignument '
nmy no either in
gaol or hospital.
From whom fines
may be
recovered.
No trade to be
carried on in any
brothel.
Monies raised
under tills
Ordinance to be
applied solely to
the purposes of
the Ordinance.
Power to Gov-
ernor to mane
bye-laws and
regulations.
Penalties bow to
7m recovered.
,afternoon of each day at the Harbour Master's Office for the purposes of
such inspec-
tion; and the Colonial Surgeon or such other medical officer upon such
inspection is to
give a certificate under his hand as to the state of health of such
seaman, which certi-
ficate such seaman is to produce and show to the master of the ship in
which he may
be about to serve; and for every such certificate there shall be paid the
fee of fifty
cents, to be paid by the master or agent of the ship in case such seaman
should prove-
to be in sound health, and by the seaman himself or the boarding house
keeper with
whom he shall be residing in case he shall prove to be affected with any
venereal
disease; such fee to be received by the Harbour Master, and in case of
non-payment-to
be sued for and recovered by him, and paid into the Colonial Treasury for
the purposes.
of this Ordinance.
20. In all cases where punishment by imprisonment shall be inflicted
under this
Ordinance, such imprisonment may be either in gaol or in hospital, and
may be either
with or without hard labour as the Court shall adjudge.
21. In all cases in which fines shall be imposed under the provisions of
any sec-
tion of this Ordinance, and the brothel keeper on whom such fine shall be
imposed
shall be unable to pay or discharge the same, then the same shall be
recovered from
the immediate landlord or lessor of such house; and in case such landlord
or lessor be
not known or cannot be ascertained, then from the Crown lessee of the
plot of ground.
on which such house may be erected or built, provided it be proved to the
satisfaction
of the Magistrate, that such Crown lessee was cognisant of the purposes
for which such
house shall have been let or occupied.
22. No house in which any trade or business shall be carried on shall be
registered,
ox be capable of becoming a registered brothel under the provisions of
this Ordinance.
2$. No monies which shall be raised under the provisions of this
Ordinance by
way of any foe shall at any time be applied or applicable to any purposes
other than or
different from the specific purposes for which the same are to be raised,
and to which
they are to be applied under the provisions of this Ordinance.
24. His Excellency in Council is hereby empowered from time to time to
make
such regulations and bye-laws as may be deemed necessary for carrying
into effect-the
provisions of this Ordinance, and for the regulation and control of
registered brothel&within the aforesaid districts.
25. All cases arising under this Ordinance shall be tried and adjudicated
by, and
all fines and penalties herein mentioned, and all sums herein declared to
be recoveca>ile,
shall be sued for and recovered before, any Magistrate of Police, either
singly, or any
two or morn Justices of the Peace in the manner provided by Ordinance No:
10 of 1844,
entituled 'An Ordinance to regulate Summary Proceedings before Justices
of the Peace,,
and to protect Justices in the Execution of their Duty.'
,[Repealed by Ordinance No. v0 of 1867.]
Title.
Preamble.
Definition of terms.
Allbrothels to be registered, and to be within certain districts.
Penalties.
Brothels may be proceeded against as nuisances.
Upon the third conviction for keeping a brothel contrary to provisions of this Ordinance, Magistrate may shut up the house in which the same is kept.
[* See Ord. No. 6 of 1862.]
Mode of proof that a house is a brothel.
[* See Ord. No. 2 of 1860.]
Register of brothels, with names of keepers, &c.
Brothels declared to be such by the Registrar General.
Appeal.
Registered brothels to be visited by certain officers.
Keepers of brothels to furnish the Registrar General with weekly lists of inmates, &c.
Lists of inmates, &c. to be kept suspended in each brothel.
Penalty for offering any obstacle to visits of proper officers &c.
Women affected with any venereal disease to be removed to hospital.
Expenses of any woman while in hospital, to be paid by the keeper of the brothel whence such woman shall have been removed.
Prostitutes infecting healthy persons liable to punishment.
Every keeper of a brothel to pay a monthly sum.
Monies collected by way of fees under this Ordinance to go to the formation of a general fund for the purposes of the Ordinance.
Pay of the Colonial Surgeon or other medical officer appointed under this Ordinance.
Keepers of brothels may employ constables specially for their protection, &c.
Such constables to be under the control, &c. of the Superintendent of Police.
A hospital for women to be built. Provisions for renting suitable premises in the menatime until such hospital shall be built.
Keepers of licensed boarding house to furnish the Harbour Master with weekly lists of the seamen resident in their houses.
Diseased seamen to be removed to hospital.
Penalty for offering any obstruction to removal to hospital, &c.
Masters of ships before shipping seamen may require that they be inspected.
Imprisonment may be either in gaol or hospital.
From whom fines may be recovered.
No trade to be carried on in any brothel.
Monies raised under this Ordinance to be applied solely to the purposes of the Ordinance.
Power to Governor to make bye-laws and regulations.
Penalties how to be recovered.
Abstract
Title.
Preamble.
Definition of terms.
Allbrothels to be registered, and to be within certain districts.
Penalties.
Brothels may be proceeded against as nuisances.
Upon the third conviction for keeping a brothel contrary to provisions of this Ordinance, Magistrate may shut up the house in which the same is kept.
[* See Ord. No. 6 of 1862.]
Mode of proof that a house is a brothel.
[* See Ord. No. 2 of 1860.]
Register of brothels, with names of keepers, &c.
Brothels declared to be such by the Registrar General.
Appeal.
Registered brothels to be visited by certain officers.
Keepers of brothels to furnish the Registrar General with weekly lists of inmates, &c.
Lists of inmates, &c. to be kept suspended in each brothel.
Penalty for offering any obstacle to visits of proper officers &c.
Women affected with any venereal disease to be removed to hospital.
Expenses of any woman while in hospital, to be paid by the keeper of the brothel whence such woman shall have been removed.
Prostitutes infecting healthy persons liable to punishment.
Every keeper of a brothel to pay a monthly sum.
Monies collected by way of fees under this Ordinance to go to the formation of a general fund for the purposes of the Ordinance.
Pay of the Colonial Surgeon or other medical officer appointed under this Ordinance.
Keepers of brothels may employ constables specially for their protection, &c.
Such constables to be under the control, &c. of the Superintendent of Police.
A hospital for women to be built. Provisions for renting suitable premises in the menatime until such hospital shall be built.
Keepers of licensed boarding house to furnish the Harbour Master with weekly lists of the seamen resident in their houses.
Diseased seamen to be removed to hospital.
Penalty for offering any obstruction to removal to hospital, &c.
Masters of ships before shipping seamen may require that they be inspected.
Imprisonment may be either in gaol or hospital.
From whom fines may be recovered.
No trade to be carried on in any brothel.
Monies raised under this Ordinance to be applied solely to the purposes of the Ordinance.
Power to Governor to make bye-laws and regulations.
Penalties how to be recovered.
Preamble.
Definition of terms.
Allbrothels to be registered, and to be within certain districts.
Penalties.
Brothels may be proceeded against as nuisances.
Upon the third conviction for keeping a brothel contrary to provisions of this Ordinance, Magistrate may shut up the house in which the same is kept.
[* See Ord. No. 6 of 1862.]
Mode of proof that a house is a brothel.
[* See Ord. No. 2 of 1860.]
Register of brothels, with names of keepers, &c.
Brothels declared to be such by the Registrar General.
Appeal.
Registered brothels to be visited by certain officers.
Keepers of brothels to furnish the Registrar General with weekly lists of inmates, &c.
Lists of inmates, &c. to be kept suspended in each brothel.
Penalty for offering any obstacle to visits of proper officers &c.
Women affected with any venereal disease to be removed to hospital.
Expenses of any woman while in hospital, to be paid by the keeper of the brothel whence such woman shall have been removed.
Prostitutes infecting healthy persons liable to punishment.
Every keeper of a brothel to pay a monthly sum.
Monies collected by way of fees under this Ordinance to go to the formation of a general fund for the purposes of the Ordinance.
Pay of the Colonial Surgeon or other medical officer appointed under this Ordinance.
Keepers of brothels may employ constables specially for their protection, &c.
Such constables to be under the control, &c. of the Superintendent of Police.
A hospital for women to be built. Provisions for renting suitable premises in the menatime until such hospital shall be built.
Keepers of licensed boarding house to furnish the Harbour Master with weekly lists of the seamen resident in their houses.
Diseased seamen to be removed to hospital.
Penalty for offering any obstruction to removal to hospital, &c.
Masters of ships before shipping seamen may require that they be inspected.
Imprisonment may be either in gaol or hospital.
From whom fines may be recovered.
No trade to be carried on in any brothel.
Monies raised under this Ordinance to be applied solely to the purposes of the Ordinance.
Power to Governor to make bye-laws and regulations.
Penalties how to be recovered.
Identifier
https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/118
Edition
1890
Volume
v1
Cap / Ordinance No.
No. 12 of 1857
Number of Pages
6
Files
Collection
Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online
Citation
“VENEREAL DISEASES ORDINANCE,” Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online, accessed January 18, 2025, https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/118.
