# Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 1993

Date of Commencement: 23 April 1993 (s. 20(2)(a) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1))
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CRIMES (AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE 1993
CONTENTS
HONG KONG
Ordinance No. 24 of 1993
* L.S.
I assent. Christopher PATTEN, Governor 22 April 1993
An Ordinance to amend the Crimes Ordinance and other Ordinances to repeal the death penalty and make other amendments consequential to that repeal.
[23 April 1993]
Enacted by the Governor of Hong Kong, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof.
1. Short title
This Ordinance may be cited as the Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 1993.
2. Treason
Section 2(2) of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200) is amended by repealing “on conviction upon indictment shall be sentenced to death” and substituting “shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life”.
3. Unlawful oaths to commit capital offences
Section 15(a) is amended by repealing “any offence punishable with death” and substituting “an offence of murder, treason or piracy with violence”.
4. Piracy with violence
Section 19 is amended by repealing “on conviction upon indictment shall be sentenced to death” and substituting “shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life”.
Consequential Amendments
Offences against the Person Ordinance
5. Murder
Section 2 of the Offences against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212) is amended by repealing “suffer death” and substituting “be imprisoned for life”.
6. Sentence for murder
Section 3 is repealed.
7. Burial of body of person executed
Section 4 is repealed.
Criminal Procedure Ordinance
8. Trial of offences
Section 51(1)(c) of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap. 221) is amended by repealing “or pleads guilty to a charge of a capital offence,”.
9. Limitation on imposition of death penalty
Section 70 is repealed.
10. Proceedings and sentence in case of expectant mother convicted of capital offence
Section 77 is repealed.
11. Initiating procedure
Section 83Q is amended—
    (a) by repealing subsections (4) and (5); and
    (b) in subsection (6)(a), by repealing “to death or”.
12. Recording of pardon
Section 117 is amended—
    (a) in subsection (1)—
       (i) by repealing “or to issue any warrant for the commutation of any sentence of death”; and
       (ii) by repealing “or warrant” where it twice appears; and
    (b) in subsection (2), by repealing “and warrant”.
Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
13. Reference to an offence to include attempts, etc.
Section 82(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) is amended—
    (a) by repealing “apply to any offence for which a sentence of death may be imposed, or”; and
    (b) in the Chinese version, by repealing “並不適用於可判處死刑的罪行，亦”.
14. Punishment of misdemeanors, including conspiracies and incitements
Section 90 is amended—
    (a) by repealing subsection (3); and
    (b) in the Chinese version, by repealing subsection (3).
Jury Ordinance
15. Majority verdicts
Section 24 of the Jury Ordinance (Cap. 3) is amended—
    (a) in subsection (3), by repealing “Subject to subsection (4), in a criminal trail” and substituting “In a criminal trial”; and
    (b) by repealing subsection (4).
16. Death or discharge of juror
Section 25(4) is Replica and the following substituted—
    “(4) In any civil or criminal trial, the jury shall consist of not less than 5 persons.”.
Coroners Ordinance
17. Executions and deaths in prison, etc.
Section 7(1) of the Coroners Ordinance (Cap. 14) is repealed.
Mental Health Ordinance
18. Medical reports on persons on remand
(1) Section 56(1) of the Mental Health Ordinance (Cap. 136) is amended— ​
    (a) by repealing paragraph (a); and
    (b) in paragraph (b), by repealing “whether the prisoner is charged with a capital offence or not,”.
(2) Section 56(2) is amended by repealing “has been committed in custody for trial charged with a capital offence or if he”.
Prisons Ordinance
19. Judgment of death to be executed within precincts of prison
Section 13 of the Prisons Ordinance (Cap. 234) is repealed.
20. Burial of body
Section 14 is repealed.
21. General saving
Section 15 is repealed.
Rehabilitation of Offenders Ordinance
22. Protection of rehabilitated individual
Section 2(1)(a) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 297) is amended by repealing “death,”.
Homicide Ordinance
23. Form of sentence of death
Section 6 of the Homicide Ordinance (Cap. 339) is repealed.
Emergency Regulations Ordinance
24. Penalties
Section 3 of the Emergency Regulations Ordinance (Cap. 241) is amended— ​
    (a) in subsection (1), by adding “a maximum penalty of mandatory life imprisonment but excluding” after “including”; and
    (b) by repealing subsection (3).
This work is a Hong Kong ordinance, which is copyrighted in Hong Kong for 50 years after publication pursuant to section 183(2) and paragraph 36 of Schedule 2 of the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528). However, as an edict of a government, it is in the public domain in the U.S.
According to Section 3 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1), the term "ordinance" also includes any subsidiary legislation made under any ordinances of Hong Kong that does not contravene with the Hong Kong Basic Law.
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