VENEREAL DISEASE ORDINANCE

VENEREAL DISEASE ORDINANCE

LAWS OF HONG KONG

VENEREAL DISEASE ORDINANCE

CHAPTER 275





CHAPTER 275
VENEREAL DISEASE

To control the spreading of venereal disease.

[11 January 19521

Originally 1 of 1952 R. Ed. 1964, L.N. 76 of
1989

1. Short title

This Ordinance may be cited as the Venereal Disease Ordinance.

2. Interpretation

In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires-

'clearance certificate' means a certificate in writing given by a medical practitioner
certifying that a contact is not, at the date of the certificate, suffering from a
venereal disease in a communicable form;

'contact' means a person upon whom an examination notice has been served;

'Deputy Director' means the officer appointed to be Deputy Director of Health and
also includes any medical officer appointed by the Director of Health to act on
behalf of the Deputy Director of Health for the purpose of this Ordinance;
(Replaced L.N. 76 of 1989)

examination notice' means a notice by the Deputy Director requiring a person to
attend for and submit to a medical examination;
'medical practitioner' means a person who is(a) a Government medical officer; (b) a
medical officer of Her Majesty's navy, army or air force; (e) a registered
medical practitioner;

'transfer notice' means a notice given by a contact of intention to transfer to
another medical practitioner;

'treatment' includes any periodical or other medical examination;

'treatment notice' means a notice by a medical practitioner requiring a contact to
attend for and submit to further examination and treatment;

,'venereal disease' means gonorrhoea, syphilis, soft sore or chancre, lympho
granuloma or such other disease as the Governor in Council may declare by
notification in the Gazette to be venereal disease for the purposes of this
Ordinance.





3.Duty of medical practitioner to report
suspected source of infection

Any medical practitioner who receives from a patient, found by him to be
suffering from a venereal disease, information as to a person from whom the patient
suspects that the disease was contracted shall, unless having regard to the time at
which sexual relations between the parties are alleged to have taken place and any
other information before him, such practitioner is of opinion that there is no
reasonable cause to believe that the disease was so contracted, send a report in
Form 1 in the Schedule setting out particulars as to the patient and the disease from
which the patient is suffering and as to the person from whom it is suspected that
the disease was contracted, to the Deputy Director of Health, Department of Health.
(AmendedL.N. 76of 1989)

4.Duty of Deputy Director to require contact to attend
for and submit to medical examination

(1) If it appears to the Deputy Director that any person specified in a report as
aforesaid is a person from whom 2 or more patients suspect that they have
contracted a venereal disease, the Deputy Director, shall, unless it appears to him
that there is no reasonable cause to believe that the disease was so contracted,
serve on that person an examination notice in Form 2 in the Schedule

(a)stating that according to information received in pursuance of section
3 there is reason to believe that that person may require treatment in
respect of venereal disease; and

(b)requiring that person to attend for and submit to, medical examination
by a medical practitioner within such period as may be specified in
the notice.

(2) Upon service upon any person of an examination notice that person shall
forthwith specify to the Deputy Director or to the person by whom such notice is
served the medical practitioner upon whom he intends to attend for medical
examination.

5.Examination of contact. Duty of medical practitioner to
issue clearance certificate or treatment notice

A medical practitioner by whom any person is examined in pursuance of the
requirements of an examination notice shall either send to the Deputy Director a
clearance certificate in Form 3 in the Schedule in respect of the contact or serve upon
that person a treatment notice in Form 4 in the Schedule requiring the contact to
attend for and submit to further examination and treatment in accordance with such
directions as may be from time to time given by him or by such other medical
practitioner as may be, for the time being,





named in the notice, and to continue to do so until a clearance certificate has been
furnished in respect of the contact to the Deputy Director:

Provided that, at any time before a clearance certificate is given in respect of
any contact, the contact may send to the medical practitioner or to the Deputy
Director a transfer notice of the intention of the contact to transfer to some other
medical practitioner. and thereupon the treatment notice shall have efrect as if the
name of the medical practitioner was therein substituted for that of the medical
practitioner formerly named therein.

6. Transfer notices

(1) A transfer notice shall specify the name and address of the medical
practitioner to whom the contact proposes to transfer, and, in the event of any
change or proposed change in the address of the contact, shall also specify the new
address of the contact.

(2) A contact by whom a transfer notice is given shall within 7 days after giving
the notice attend for and submit to medical examination by the medical practitioner
named in the notice.

7. Supply of certificate to he free of charge

Medical practitioners shall furnish free of charge any certificates required for
the purposes of this Ordinance.

8. Service of notice to be personal

Any examination notice and any treatment notice shall be served upon the
person on whom it is required to be served personally, except in any case in which
service by post is authorized by the Deputy Director on being satisfied that all
reasonable steps to effect personal service have been taken.

9. Power to amend the Schedule

The Governor in Council may amend the forms in the Schedule and may add
further forms.

10. Application of law of defamation

If a patient found by a medical practitioner to be suffering from a venereal
disease gives to him information as to a person from whom the patient suspects that
the disease was contracted, such information shall be deemed for the purposes of
the law relating to defamation to have been communicated in pursuance of a
statutory duty.





11. Offences and penalty

Any

(a)patient found by a medical practitioner to be suffering from venereal
disease who furnishes to such practitioner information which such
patient knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be false in a
material particular or recklessly makes any statement which is false in a
material particular; or

(b) contact who contravenes the provisions of a treatment notice; or

(c)contact who, having given a transfer notice fails within 7 days after
giving such notice to attend for and submit to medical examination by
the medical practitioner named in such notice; or

(d)contact who contravenes the provisions of section 4(2) or who fails to
attend for and submit to medical examination within the time prescribed
for such examination in the examination notice by the medical
practitioner whom he has specified as the medical practitioner upon
whom he intends to attend for medical examination,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine of $1,000 and to
imprisonment for 6 months.

12. Restriction upon prosecution

A prosecution for an ofrence shall not be instituted except by or with the
consent of the Attorney General.

SCHEDULE

FORM 1 [s. 3]

VENEREAL DISEASE
ORDINANCE
(Chapter 275)
Report to Deputy Director of Health by Medical Practitioner To:
Deputy Director of Health, Department of Health.

In pursuance of section 3 of the Venereal Disease Ordinance (Cap. 275), I

....................................(insert name of medical practitioner) hereby give notice

of the following particulars, namely:-

(1) Name of patient ....................................
(2) Name of disease .....................................................

(3) Name or description of person
from whom it is suspected that
the disease was contracted .....................................................................................

.....................

(4) Address of such person, or, if
unknown, full description of place
where disease was contracted ......................................................................................

.......................

Dated this day of ,19




(Signed) .............................................
......... Medical Practitioner





FORM 2 [s. 4]

VENEREAL DISEASE ORDINANCE
(Chapter 275)

Examination Notice

To:

According to information received in pursuance of section 3 of the Venereal Disease
Ordinance (Cap. 275), I, the Deputy Director of Health have reason to believe that you may
require treatment in respect of venereal disease.

I therefore, in pursuance of section 4 of the said Ordinance, give you notice that you are
required to attend for, and submit to medical examination within days of the
day of 19 by a medical practitioner. Medical examination under this heading will be made free
of charge if undergone in a government social hygiene clinic.

FORM 3 [s. 5]

VENEREAL DISEASE ORDINANCE
(Chapter 275)

Clearance Certificate
To: Deputy Director of Health, Department of Health.

....................................................................................................................................
.......
..... (medical practitioner) hereby certify that I have this day examined (insert name of contact)

........ and I am of opinion that:

(a) the said ......is not, at the date hereof, suffiering from a

venereal disease in a communicable form;

ù (b) the said ......does not require any further treatment.

Strike out whichever is not applicable.

Dated this day of ,19

(Signed)
.............................................
......... Medical Practitioner

Note:The contact may be informed by the medical practitioner of the contents of the certificate but it should not be handed to the
contact.

FORM 4 Is. 5]

VENEREAL DISEASE ORDINANCE
(Chapter 275)

Treatment Notice

To:

in pursuance of section 5 of the Venereal Disease Ordinance (Cap. 275), I hereby give you
notice to attend for and submit to further examination and treatment of
.......................................... in accordance with direction given by
................................................................................................ and to continue to do so, until a
clearance certificate in respect of yourself has been issued.







Dated this day of ,19

(Signed) ......................................................
Medical Practitioner

(Schedule amended L.N. 76 of1989)

https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/3067

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