To provide for the establishment of training centres for the training and reformation of offenders who have attained the age of 14 years and have not attained the age of 21 years, and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
(Amended 52 of 1954 s. 2)
[6 March 1953]
(Format changes—E.R. 1 of 2019)
This Ordinance may be cited as the Training Centres Ordinance.
In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires—
Commissioner (署長) means the Commissioner of Correctional Services of Hong Kong or a Deputy Commissioner; (Replaced 7 of 1956 s. 2. Amended L.N. 30 of 1982; 15 of 1999 s. 3) court (法庭) means the Court of First Instance or the District Court or a permanent or special magistrate; (Amended 92 of 1975 s. 59; 25 of 1998 s. 2) functions (職能) includes powers and duties; judge (法官) includes a judge of the District Court.The Secretary for Security may establish institutions, hereinafter referred to as training centres—
for the training and reformation of offenders who have attained the age of 14 years and have not attained the age of 21 years; and
to which persons who have attained the age of 14 years and have not attained the age of 21 years may be remanded or committed under section 4A(1). (Replaced 26 of 1968 s. 2)
The Secretary for Security may declare that such places and buildings as he may deem fit shall be used for the purposes of a training centre, and any such declaration shall be published in the Gazette.
(Amended 63 of 1978 s. 2)
Where a person is convicted of an offence punishable with imprisonment, then if on the day of his conviction he is in the opinion of the court not less than 14 but under 21 years of age, and the court is satisfied that it is in the interest of the community and that having regard to his character and previous conduct, and to the circumstances of the offence, it is expedient for his reformation and for the prevention of crime that he should undergo a period of training in a training centre, the court may, in lieu of any other sentence, pass a sentence of detention in a training centre. (Amended 52 of 1954 s. 2)
A person sentenced to detention shall be detained in a training centre for such period, not extending beyond 3 years from the date of his sentence, as the Commissioner may determine, and shall then be released: Provided that the Commissioner shall not release any such person before the expiration of 6 months from the date of his sentence, unless required to do so by direction of the Chief Executive. (Amended 4 of 1974 s. 2; 15 of 1999 s. 3)
Before a sentence of detention is passed, the court shall consider any report or representations made by or on behalf of the Commissioner on the offender’s physical and mental condition and his suitability for such sentence; and if the court is the District Court or a magistrate and has not received such a report or representations, it shall after conviction remand the offender into the custody of the Commissioner for such a period or periods, not exceeding 3 weeks in the case of any single period, as the court thinks necessary to enable the report or representations to be made.
[cf. 1948 c. 58 s. 20 (1) & (7) & 2nd Sch. U.K.]
A court on remanding or committing for trial a person who in the opinion of the court has attained the age of 14 years and has not attained the age of 21 years and who is not released on bail shall, instead of committing him to prison, commit him to custody in a training centre, there to be detained for the period for which he is remanded or until he is thence delivered in due course of law:Provided that it shall not be obligatory on the court so to commit him if the court certifies that he is of so unruly a character that he cannot be safely so committed or that he is otherwise unsuitable for committal to custody in a training centre. (Amended 4 of 1974 s. 3)
A commitment under this section may be varied or, in the case of a person who proves to be of so unruly a character that he cannot be safely detained in such custody, or to be otherwise unsuitable for committal to custody in a training centre, revoked by any court, and if it is so revoked the person may be committed to prison. (Amended 4 of 1974 s. 3)
Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect the power of a juvenile court to remand a child or young person to custody in a place of detention as provided by section 7(1) of the Juvenile Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 226).
(Added 26 of 1968 s. 3) [cf. 1908 c. 67 s. 97 U.K.]
A person after his release from a training centre and until the expiration of 3 years from the date of his release may be subjected to supervision by such society or person as may be specified in a notice to be given him by the Commissioner on his release, and shall, while under supervision, comply with such requirements, including requirements as to residence, as may be so specified: (Amended 4 of 1974 s. 4; 44 of 1987 s. 5)Provided that the Commissioner may at any time modify or cancel any of the said requirements or order that a person who is under supervision as aforesaid shall cease to be under supervision.
A person who fails to comply with any requirement for the time being specified in a notice given to him under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine at level 2 and to imprisonment for 12 months. (Added 4 of 1974 s. 4. Amended E.R. 5 of 2021)
If the Commissioner is satisfied that a person under supervision has failed to comply with any requirement for the time being specified in the notice given to him under subsection (1), the Commissioner may by order recall such person to a training centre, and thereupon such person shall be liable to be detained in a training centre until the expiration of 3 years from the date of his sentence, or the expiration of 6 months from the date of his being taken into custody under the order, whichever is the later, and, if at large, such person shall be deemed to be unlawfully at large:Provided that—(a)any such order shall, at the expiration of 3 years from the date he is first released, cease to have effect unless the person to whom it relates is then in custody thereunder; and(b)the Commissioner may at any time release a person who is detained in a training centre under this subsection; and the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply in the case of a person so released as they apply in the case of a person released under section 4(2).
(Amended 4 of 1974 s. 4)
If a person in respect of whom a sentence of detention in a training centre, or a supervision notice or order of recall under section 5, is in force is sentenced to imprisonment—
for a term of 2 years or less and the sentence of imprisonment is not suspended, the sentence of detention, supervision notice or order of recall shall be suspended until the expiration of his term of imprisonment; (Amended 63 of 1978 s. 3)
for a term of more than 2 years or a new sentence of detention in a training centre is passed on him, the first- mentioned sentence of detention in a training centre, or the supervision notice or order of recall, as the case may be, shall cease to have effect.
A sentence of detention in a training centre, or a supervision notice or order of recall under section 5, passed on, given to or made against any person on whom a suspended sentence of imprisonment has been passed (whether passed, given or made before or after the suspended sentence was passed) shall, if that suspended sentence is ordered to take effect, be suspended until the expiration of his term of imprisonment. (Added 63 of 1978 s. 3)
If a person in respect of whom—
a sentence of detention in a training centre under section 4 is in force is further sentenced to detention in an addiction treatment centre—
his detention in a training centre shall be suspended until he is released from the addiction treatment centre; and
any supervision order made against him under section 5 of the Drug Addiction Treatment Centres Ordinance (Cap. 244) may be waived or suspended as may be decided by the Commissioner;
a supervision notice under section 5 is in force is further sentenced to detention in an addiction treatment centre—
the supervision notice shall be suspended until he is released from the addiction treatment centre; and
where on the date of his release from the addiction treatment centre, his supervision under the supervision notice—
remains more than 1 year, he shall, at the same time, be subject to supervision under any supervision order which may be made against him under section 5 of the Drug Addiction Treatment Centres Ordinance (Cap. 244); or
remains 1 year or less, he shall only be required to be subject to supervision under any supervision order which may be made against him under section 5 of the Drug Addiction Treatment Centres Ordinance (Cap. 244);
an order of recall under section 5 is in force is further sentenced to detention in an addiction treatment centre, the order of recall shall be suspended until he is released from the addiction treatment centre or shall be treated as lapsed as may be decided by the Commissioner. (Added 32 of 2000 s. 5)
(Added 4 of 1974 s. 5)
Any person sentenced to detention who is or is deemed to be unlawfully at large may be arrested by any police officer without warrant and taken to the place in which he is required by law to be detained.
Any person in respect of whom a supervision notice has been made under section 5 and against whom an order of recall has been made under subsection (2) of that section who is or is deemed to be unlawfully at large may be arrested without warrant by any officer of the Correctional Services Department specified in that supervision notice, or such other officer of that Department as the Commissioner may substitute for the officer so specified by a modification of the requirements of that notice, and taken to the place in which he is required by law to be detained. (Added 14 of 1988 s. 2)
Where any person sentenced to detention is unlawfully at large at any time during the period for which he is liable to be detained in pursuance of the sentence, then unless the Chief Executive otherwise directs no account shall be taken in calculating the period for which he is liable to be so detained of any time during which he was absent from the training centre: (Amended 15 of 1999 s. 3) Provided that— (a)this subsection shall not apply to any period during which any such person as aforesaid is detained in prison pursuant to the sentence of any court; and (b)nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed as extending the period during which a person sentenced to detention is liable to supervision under section 5.
If the Chief Executive is satisfied that a person serving a sentence of imprisonment is under 21 years of age and might with advantage be detained in a training centre, he may, after consultation where practicable with the judge or magistrate who passed the sentence, authorize the Commissioner to transfer such person to a training centre; and the provisions of this Ordinance shall thereupon apply to such person as if he had on the date of the transfer been sentenced to detention in a training centre: (Amended 52 of 1954 s. 2) Provided that if on that date the unexpired term of his sentence is less than 3 years, those provisions shall apply to him as if he had been sentenced to detention in a training centre 3 years before the expiration of that term.
If a person in respect of whom a sentence of detention in a training centre is in force is reported to the Chief Executive by the Commissioner to be incorrigible, or to be exercising a bad influence on the other inmates of the training centre, the Chief Executive may commute the unexpired part of the term for which the said person is then liable to be detained in a training centre to such term of imprisonment as the Chief Executive may determine, not exceeding the said unexpired part or the term to which the said person was liable for the offence of which he was convicted, whichever be the less; and for the purpose of this Ordinance, the said person shall be treated as if he had been sentenced to imprisonment for the term so determined by the Chief Executive. (Amended 4 of 1974 s. 6)
(Amended 15 of 1999 s. 3)
[cf. 1948 c. 58 s. 59 U.K.]
Subject to any regulations made under section 10 of this Ordinance, the provisions of—
sections 9 to 12 inclusive, section 16, sections 17 to 21 inclusive and section 23 of the Prisons Ordinance (Cap. 234);
the Prison Rules (Cap. 234 sub. leg. A); and (Amended E.R. 1 of 2019)
sections 55 and 56 of the Mental Health Ordinance (Cap. 136),
shall apply to training centres and to the staff thereof and to persons sentenced to detention therein under section 4(1) or committed thereto under section 4A(1) in like manner as if the persons so detained were prisoners and a training centre were a prison, and such provisions shall be read with such verbal alterations and modifications not affecting their substance as are necessary to render the same conveniently applicable: (Amended 7 of 1956 s. 3; 26 of 1968 s. 4; 4 of 1974 s. 7)
Provided that—
in the event of conflict between the provisions of this Ordinance and the provisions of the Prisons Ordinance (Cap. 234) or the Mental Health Ordinance (Cap. 136) the provisions of this Ordinance shall prevail;
a person committed under section 4A(1) shall be treated as a prisoner awaiting trial. (Replaced 26 of 1968 s. 4)
(Repealed 4 of 1974 s. 7)
Section 81 of the Evidence Ordinance (Cap. 8) shall apply to persons detained in a training centre by virtue of this Ordinance in like manner as if they were prisoners.
Where a court passes a sentence of detention in a training centre upon any person, it shall make an order in writing under the seal of the court in the prescribed form.
The court shall cause such order to be delivered with the person to whom it relates to the Commissioner, and such order shall be sufficient authority for the detention of such person in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance.
The Chief Executive in Council may by regulation provide for— (Amended 15 of 1999 s. 3)
the regulation and management of training centres;
the treatment, employment, discipline, control and welfare of the persons detained therein;
the appointment of visiting justices and visiting committees and the functions of such justices and committees;
forms to be used for the purposes of this Ordinance and any regulations made thereunder;
the modification in relation to training centres or persons detained therein of any enactment which by virtue of section 8 would apply to training centres or persons detained therein, or that any such enactment shall cease to apply to training centres or persons detained therein; and
the better carrying into effect of the provisions of this Ordinance.