MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): Thank you, President. Although the Security Bureau has implemented a number of measures by amending the laws in recent years to reduce the number of non-refoulement claimants who need to stay in Hong Kong, there are still more than 14000 claimants in Hong Kong at present. Moreover, the fact that hundreds of claimants have been arrested for committing crimes has aroused grave concern in the community. My supplementary question is: As it can be seen from the relevant figures that 1 229 claimants have breached the recognizance and absconded, what measures does the Government have to reduce the incentives for claimants to easily breach the recognizance and abscond?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): Thank you, President. Regarding whether a claimant should be released on recognizance or detained, we have actually put in place a risk assessment procedure. If it is considered that a claimant may commit an offence, pose a risk to society or abscond, we may consider sending him to a detention facility. In fact, the number of places in detention facilities has been increased at the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre from 500 to 900 at present, and two additional detention centres at Tai Tam Gap and Nei Kwu have been made available. We will detain claimants as and when deemed appropriate on the basis of risk assessment.
As for measures to further reduce the incentives, these include clarifying that there will absolutely be no amnesty policy, as mentioned just now, and eliminating any room for non-refoulement claimants to work in Hong Kong, including strengthening law enforcement actions and stepping up efforts in instituting prosecution against employers who employ these claimants. Thank you, President.