Proposed amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance seek to address loopholes, Secretary for Security John Lee said today.

The two ordinances have been in force for more than two decades, during which there have been a number of serious crimes in which the culprits have absconded to other jurisdictions.

The proposed amendments will address the issue by enabling the one-off case-based approach to be applied to jurisdictions without long-term surrender arrangements with Hong Kong.

In one case, a Hong Kong resident suspected of murdering another Hong Kong resident in Taiwan returned to the city, but the request for sending him to Taiwan for trial could not be processed due to the limitations of the two ordinances.

Speaking to the media after attending the Legislative Council Panel on Security meeting today, Mr Lee said: “I think it is a real fact that a case of similar nature to the Taiwan murder case can happen again. So I think it is important that we address this defect in the law now, rather than repeating making the same mistakes.

“I have in hand at least three murder cases in Hong Kong, in which Hong Kong residents were murdered. Two of the cases involve suspects now hiding in a place which is outside Hong Kong and within the People's Republic of China. 

“So I must address the risk to safety and the law and order problem, that if I allow them to continue to either stay in Hong Kong or do nothing, so as to ensure the justice is done.”