DANGEROUS DRUGS (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Attorney-General (Mr C. H. Butterfield): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, this Bill comes before the Assembly as a separate measure because the amendments proposed are not directly related to the temporary provisions of the law relating to Opium Treatment Centres with which the last Bill, which has just been before the Assembly, dealt.

I think hon. Members will have seen from the Explanatory Note which is attached to this Bill that the main purpose of the amendment proposed by it is to empower police officers who are not below the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police as well as, as at present, magistrates and Justices of the Peace, to authorise the search of premises in which there is reasonable cause to believe that there is concealed any dangerous drugs or any articles relating to the commission of an offence under the Ordinance.

Sir, this amendment will do away with the procedure involving a very considerable waste of time which has to be followed when the Officer in charge of the Narcotics Branch of the C.I.D. is not a Justice of the Peace. Sir, briefly, this procedure involves the transportation from the old Kreta Ayer Police Station to the Central Police Station of the Duty Officer and of each detective whose information forms the basis of an application for a search warrant. This normally involves a large proportion of the detective staff attached to the Narcotics Branch every day and sometimes, indeed, it involves the transportation of the whole of the detective staff to the Central Police Station. It is clear therefore, Sir, that if this amendment is made, the Narcotics Branch will be enabled to devote all its time and energies to the suppression of the traffic in opium and other dangerous drugs instead of, as at present, using a considerable amount of time in obtaining the warrants which are necessary before they can undertake their work.

In view, Sir, of the importance of the work of the Narcotics Branch, I hope that this Assembly will support this motion. I would, before formally moving the Second Reading, Sir, take this opportunity of indicating to Members that in the event of the Bill being given its Second Reading, I propose to move in Committee the deletion of paragraph (d) in clause 2 which is considered to be unnecessary.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time.