PRISONS ORDINANCE, 1899

PRISONS ORDINANCE, 1899

No. 4 of 1899.
An Ordinance to consolidate and amend the laws
to prisons.
[7th March, 1899.]

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Prisons Ordinance,
1899.

As amended by Law Rev. Ord., 1924.
As amended by No. 15 of 1923 and Lan, Rev. Ord., 1924.





2. The Governor may make orders for any of the following
purposes
(1) to set apart any available sites and buildings for the
purpose of a prison;
(2) to discontinue the use of any prison and appropriate
the site and buildings thereof to any other lawful purpose;
(3) to remove prisoners from one prison to another; and
(4) to appoint fit persons to be respectively superintendent
of prisons, assistant superintendents, chaplains, surgeons
chief warders, and such subordinate officers for the service of
prisons as, the governor may think necessary, and to remove
such persons from their offices.

. 3. The site and buildings and prison known as victoria
gaol shall be a prison duly set apart under section 2.

[s. 4, rep. No. 1. of -1912.]

5. Prisoners shall be under the control of superintendents
and assistant superintendents of prisons and chief warders,
assisted by the prison officers.

6.---(1) A person shall be deemed to be a prisoner and in
legal custody whenever he is being taken to or from, or is
confined in, any prison in which he may be lawfully confined,
whether under criminal or eivil process or whenever he is
working outside or is otherwise outside nay such prison in
the custody or under the control of a prison officer belonging
to such prison.

(2) Any constable or other officer acting under the order
of any judge or Justice of the peace, or officer having power
to commit a prisoner to prison, may convey a prisoner to or
from any prison to or from which he may be legally com-
mitted or removed.

7. The following rules shall be observed with respect to
the separation of prisoners.

(1) in every prison separate cells shall, as far as possible,
be provided. equal in number to the average of the greatest
number of prisoners who have been confined in such prison
at, any time during each of the preceding five years;

As amended by Law Rev. Ord.. 1924





(2) in every prison punishment cells shall be provided or
appropriated for the confinement of prisoners for prison
offences ;

(3) In a prison containing female as well as male prisoners,
the women shall be imprisoned in separate buildings or
separate parts of the same buildings, in such manner as to
prevent their seeing, conversing, or holding any intercourse
with the male prisoners.

(4) in a prison where debtors are confined, means shall be.
provided for separating them altoghther from the criminal
prisoners

(5) in a prison where. criminal prisoners are confined, such
prisoners shall, as far as possible, bo proventod
any communication with each other, either by every prisoner
being kept in a separate cell by day and by night, except
when he is at chapel or taking exercise, or by every prisoner
being confined by nIght to his cell and being stibjected to
such superintendence during the day as will, consistently
with the provisions of this Ordinance, prevent his com-
municating with any other prisoner; and,

(6) in a prison where prisoners under the age of sixteen
years are confined, they shall be kept separate from prisoners
of or above that age.

8,-(1) No cell shall be used for the separate confinement
of a prisoner unless it has been approved in writing by the
Governor for'the purpose, and the Glovernor shall not give
his approval in respect of any cell unless he is satisfied that
it is of such a size, and is lighted, ventilated, and fitted
up in such a manner as may be. requisite for health, and
furnished with the means if. enabling the prisoner to com-
mumicate at any time with an officer of the prison ; but a
distinction may be made in respect of the use of cells for the
separate confinement of prisoners during long and short
periods of iniprisonment, and in respect of the use of cells
in which the prisoner is intended to be employed during
the whole day or a long or short part thereof; and the
Governor's approval may be varied accordingly, so as to
express the period of imprisoninent for which each cell may
be considered fit, and the number of hours in the day during
which the prisoners may be employed therein.





_(2) No punishment cell shall be used -unless it has been
approved in writing by the Governor, 'and the Governor
shall not give his approval in respect of any such cell unless
he is satisfied that it is furnished with the means of enabling
the prisoner to communicate at any time with an officer of
the prison, and that it can be used as a punishment cell
without detriment to the prisoner's health, and the time for
which it inay be so used shall be stated in the approval.

(3) Every approved cell shall be distinguished by a
number or mark placed in a conspicuous position, and shall
be referred to by its number or mark in the Governor's
approval, and the number or niark of any approved cell shall
not be changed without the Governor's approval.
(4) Any approval given by the Governor in respect of a
cell may be withdrawn, on such alteration taking place in
such cell as to render the approval, in his opinion, in-
applicable thereto, and, on an approval in respect of a cell
being withdrawn, that cell shall cease to be an approved
cell for the purposes of this Ordinance.

9.-(1) Hard labour, for the purposes of sentences of
imprisoninent with hard labour, shall be of such classes,
character, and description as may be appointed by rules
made by the Governor in Council.
(2) Every prisoner in any prison may, in the discretion of
the Superintendent of Prisons, be employed under the control
of prison officers on such works outside the prison as the
Governor may approve : Provided that no person shall be so
employed without his ocnsent unless he has been sentenced
to hard labour.

10.-(1) In every prison prisoners convicted of mis-
demeanor, and not sentenced to hard labour, shall be divided
into at least two divisions, one of which shall be called the
first division.
(2) Whenever any person convicted of misdemeanor is
sentenced to imprisonment without hard labour, the court
or judge before whom such person has been tried may order
that such person shall be treated as a inisdemeanant of the
first division, and a inisdemeanant of the first division shall
not be deemed to be a criminal prisoner within the meaning
of this Ordinance.

As amended by No. 15 of 1923.





(3) Every person imprisoned under any rule, order, or
attachment for contempt of. court shall be treated as a
misdemeanant of the first division.

11. Every person who-

(1) escapes or attempts to escape from any prison or from
legal custody; or

(2) aids ally prisoner in escaping or attempting to escape
from any prison of from legal custody; or,

(3) with intent to facilitate the escape of any prisoner,
conveys or causes to be conveyed into any prison any mask,
dress, or other disguise, or any letter, or any, other article or
thing,

shall be guilty of felony, and shall be liable to imprisonment
for any term not, exceeding. two years.

12.-(1) Every person who, contrary to any prison ride,
brings or attempts by any means whatever to introduce into
any prison any spirituous or fermented liquor, or fermented
opuim or any other dring and every officer of a prison who,
contrary to any prison rule, suffers any spirituous or fermented
liquor, or tobacco, or opium or any other drug to be sold or

used therein, and every officer of a prison who, contrary to any
prison rule, gives or vaises to be given or endeavours to any
anything of whatever nature to any prisoner, shall be liable
to a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars, and to imprison-
ment for any term not exceeding six months.

(2) Any officer of a prison convicted under this section
,shall, in addition to any other punishment, forfeit his office.

13. Every person who, contrary to any prison rule,
or attempts to convey any letter or other document, or any
article whatever not allowed by such rules into or out of any
prison shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred
dollars, and, further, if ail officei. of the prison, shall forfeit
his office; bot this section shall not apply in cases where the
offender is liable to a more severe punishment under any
other provision of this Ordinance.

As amended by No, 15 of 1923.







14. the superintendent of prisones hsall cause to be affixed
in a conspicuous place outside every prison a notice, in
english and in chinese, etting forthe the penalties that will
be incurred by persons committing any offence in contraven-
tion of sections 11, 12 and 13.

15. it shall be the duty of the magistrate discharging the
duties of coroner to hold an unquiry on the body of every
prisoner who may die within a prison, and in no case shall
any officer of the prison, or any prisoner confined in the
prison, or any person engaged in any sort of trade or dealing
with the prison, be a juror on such inquiry.

[s. 16, rep. no. 31 of 1911]

17. every subordinate prison officer or servant who,
(1) after having been duly engaged to serve as such,
abents himself from his duties, or refuses or neglects to obey
any lwaful order, or is guilty of ay breach of discipline, or
any insubordination; or

(2) on being dismissed or permitted to resign from or
ceasing to belong to the prison service, does not deliver
up all arms, accotrements, appointments and things
entrusted to him for the performance of his duty as such
officer or servant,

shall upon summary conviction be liable to a fine not exceed-
ing two hundred and fifty dollars, and to imprisonment for
any term not exceeding six months, and further shall forfeit
all pay during any such imprisonment.

18.(1) it shlal be lawful for the governor in council to
make rules for the regulation and government of prisons,
and for the duties and conduct of the officers and other
persons employed in prisons, and for the punishment by fine,
degradation to a lower rank or pay, discharge ordismissal of
such officers or other person, and for the duites of the
visting justices, and for the conditions under which visitors
may be allowed in prisons, and for the classification, diet,
clotheing, maintenance,employment, discipline, instruction,
adn cororction of prisoners, and the remission of a portion of
their sentences, and the granting of gratutities to them, and
for all other matters relating to prisons.

as amended by no. 15 of 1923 and law rev. ord., 1924.
as amended by law rev. ord., 1924.
as amended by no. 15 of 1923


(2) It shall also be lawflil for the Governor in Council by
such rules to impose any punishment or penalty for the
breach of any such rules.
(3) Every such rule may be disallowed by His Majesty.

19.-(1) The Governor shall appoint, with their consent,
justices of the peace to be visiting justices for periods to be
specified in such appointments.

(2) Visiting justices shall, during the period for which
they are appointed, at frequent intervals visit all prisons and
hear any complaints which may be made to them by the
prisoners, and shall report on any abuses within the
prisons or any repairs that may be required, and shall
further take cognizance of any matters of pressing necessity
and within the powers of their commission as justices, and
do such acts and perform such duties in relation to prisons
as they may be required to do or perform by the Governor,
but subject to the rules with respect to the duties of visiting
justices to be made by the Governor in Council.

20. Where a person is committed to prison for non-pay-
ment of a sum adjudged to be palid by the conviction of a
court of sammary jurisdiction, then, on payment to the.
Superintendent of Prisons, or to such person as the Superin-
tendent of Prisons may authorise, or to the first clerk at the
Magistracy, of any sum in part satisfaction of the slim so
adjudged to be paid and of any charges for which the
prisoner is liable, the term of imprisonment shall be reduced
by a number of days ]bearing as nearly as possible the same
proportion to the total, number of days, for which the prisoner
has been sentenced as the sum so paid bears to the sum for
which he is so liable: Provided,that the pro-
visions of this section shall not, apply to any sum of money
which is ordered to be, paid to any person aggrieved, by way
of compensation or amends for any injury, damage, or loss
to his person or property.
[Originally No. 7 of 1899. No. 15 of 1923. Law Rev. Ord., 1924.] Short title. Ordering of certain matters in relation to prisons. Victoria Gaol to be a prison. Control of prisoners. Custody and conveyance of prisoner. Rules as to separation of prisoners. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 17. Separate confinement and punishment cells to be approved by Governor. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 18. Regulation of hard Labour. Misdemeanants of the first and second divisions. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 67. Escaping, or attempting or aiding to escape, from prison or legal custody. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 37. Introduction of prohibited articles into prison. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 38. Conveying documents or articles into or out of prison. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 39. Notice of punishments under ss. 11-13 to be placed out-side prison. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 40. Inquiry on prisoner dying. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 48. 50 & 51 Vict, c. 57, s. 3. Misconduct of subordinate prison officers and servants. Prison rules. Appointment and duties of visiting justices. 40 & 41 Vict, c. 21, ss. 13, 14. Reduction of imprisonment on paying of portion of fine. 61 & 62 Vict, c. 41, s. 9.

[Originally No. 7 of 1899. No. 15 of 1923. Law Rev. Ord., 1924.] Short title. Ordering of certain matters in relation to prisons. Victoria Gaol to be a prison. Control of prisoners. Custody and conveyance of prisoner. Rules as to separation of prisoners. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 17. Separate confinement and punishment cells to be approved by Governor. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 18. Regulation of hard Labour. Misdemeanants of the first and second divisions. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 67. Escaping, or attempting or aiding to escape, from prison or legal custody. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 37. Introduction of prohibited articles into prison. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 38. Conveying documents or articles into or out of prison. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 39. Notice of punishments under ss. 11-13 to be placed out-side prison. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 40. Inquiry on prisoner dying. 28 & 29 Vict, c. 126, s. 48. 50 & 51 Vict, c. 57, s. 3. Misconduct of subordinate prison officers and servants. Prison rules. Appointment and duties of visiting justices. 40 & 41 Vict, c. 21, ss. 13, 14. Reduction of imprisonment on paying of portion of fine. 61 & 62 Vict, c. 41, s. 9.

https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/1180

1923

v2

234

No. 4 of 1899

7