White-collar Crimes Dropped From New Fugitive Laws

The government has caved in to demands from business leaders over planned new legislation to allow one-off extradition arrangements, stripping out a number of types of economic offences originally slated to be covered.

When the administration first proposed the legal amendments it said any future extraditions would be restricted to the same 46 categories of offences already set out in the city's Fugitives Offenders Ordinance.

These include serious crimes, such as rape, kidnapping and murder, but also many corporate offences, such as fraud and bribery.

But the government came under heavy pressure from some pro-establishment lawmakers and business groups to exempt the economic offences.

Many expressed alarm over the proposed legal amendments, saying they feared executives could find themselves handed over to the mainland for crimes they may not even have realised they had committed due to wide differences in the laws on either side of the border.

At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Security Secretary John Lee said that in response to the concerns he had decided that nine of the 46 types of offences, mostly related to commercial matters, would not be covered under the new legislation.

These include crimes relating to stock trading, tax and duties, intellectual property rights, bankruptcy and access to a computer with dishonest intent.

He said he had held discussions with the Department of Justice regarding which offences should be left out, adding that the exemptions should help put people's minds at ease.

Lee also said that requests for extraditions under the new legislation would only be entertained if the offence in question would merit a prison term of at least three years in Hong Kong.

The pro-establishment Business and Professionals Alliance said the changes have eased the concerns of the business sector.

A lawmaker of the alliance, Jeffrey Lam, also rejected suggestions that the government is biased towards the commercial sector.

"The nine items deleted are a concern to the public. For example, offences over computer use, offences over stock purchasing. All these are not just concerns for factory or business owners," Lam said.

But Democratic Party legislator James To said he does not believe the public's fears have been assuaged, and Hong Kong people and others passing through the territory will be placed in a difficult situation.

"After the surrender over a certain offence to the mainland, they can try [people] for other offences with capital punishment. They can still persecute offenders, without first trying them with political offences," To said.

The controversial bill is to be put before Legco on April 3.

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