Jail sentences not capped at 10 years: Security chief

Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak

Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak has clarified in a media statement that the penal framework related to crimes involving matters of national security that will be included in the National Security Law will not be capped at a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment.

The statement was issued by Wong’s office to clarify news reports about the public consultation session on the revision of the law held last Saturday, when the Secretary for Security presented his response to opinions and suggestions from citizens on the criminal framework.

“He only highlighted that, concerning the new crimes to be added, the penal framework for most of them is below 10 years of imprisonment,” which is on the lower side when compared to the current penal framework for the most serious crimes against state security, ranging from 10 to 25 years of imprisonment.

Wong’s office added that “the Secretary for Security never mentioned that the maximum criminal framework for all crimes provided for in the new law would be uniformly adjusted to a maximum of 10 years.”

In the public consultation document, the same office noted that “there is also no mention of such an adjustment proposal for the penal framework related to current crimes against the security of the state.”

Meanwhile, the series of public consultation sessions continues with an session open to the public today at 7:30 p.m., while a sectoral session dedicated to the administration and justice sector is also scheduled to take place this Friday (September 9) at 3 p.m.

The series of public sessions will close with a final open session to be held on Friday (September 16) at 7:30 p.m.