The system under which Justices of the Peace receive complaints from prison inmates is too rigid, legislators said yesterday.
At a meeting of the Legco home affairs panel, several lawmakers said the system under which JPs paid surprise jail visits is ineffective and that the law should be made more flexible.
At present, both official and non-official JPs on visiting duties can make additional prison visits in pairs on top of the statutory fortnightly arrangement. Official JPs are government officials, while non-official justices are members of the public.
Prison rules provide for them making surprise visits at jails, but these should be made in the daytime and are normally accompanied by the prison supervisor.
Democrat James To Kun-sun, who is not a JP, said the arrangement was too rigid and should be changed. 'When we make surprise visits after a tip-off of a possible abuse, we want to meet the inmates and verify whether the complaints are true or not,' he said.
Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, of the Liberal Party, who is a JP, doubted the surprise element for visits to prisons on outlying islands. 'On many occasions cars from prisons were already waiting to greet me the moment I stepped down from the helicopter,' he said.
