'STRICTER PENALTY' FOR CROSS-BORDER DRUG ABUSERS

Authorities would consider enforcing stricter penalties for Hong Kong
drug abusers caught on the mainland, Guangdong Provincial Narcotics
Control Commission director Chen Shaobo said on Friday.

Hong Kong drug abusers arrested on the mainland are usually detained
for 15 days before they are sent back to the SAR, he said.

"However, under the law, we can impose drug withdrawal program on the
abusers, which can run up to between three months and one year. I
strongly urge youngsters not to abuse drugs on the mainland," he added.

It was also pointed out by officials from both Hong Kong and the
mainland that the city youth wrongly believed that they would not be
penalized for drug abuse on the mainland.

Figures revealed that there were 493 drug abusers aged under 21 in the
first quarter, up from 420 recorded in the same period last year. Both
officials and social workers believed many of the youngsters were
going north for drugs.

The number of Ecstasy pills seized had been increased by 1,250 from
January to May compared with a year earlier, reaching 40,878 tablets.

Admitting that the trend of the youth taking drug was more serious
than what the statistic has revealed, Hong Kong Commissioner for
Narcotics Sally Wong said: "It is because the data on the central
registry is reported by non-governmental organizations on a voluntary
basis. They can decide not to report the cases to us. But it is
obvious that the trend is increasing."

Action Committee Against Narcotics chairman Choi Yuen-wan urged
parents to be more alert on their children's behavior.

He said the side effects of taking Ecstasy would take a longer time to
appear than heroin.

"It takes some parents tthree years to come to know about their
children's drug-taking habit. This is not acceptable. I strongly urge
parents to be more alert with their children behavior, and report any
abnormalities," he said.

But a survey conducted by the University of Hong Kong and Tung Wah
Group of Hospitals Counselling Centre for Psychotropic Substance
Abusers revealed that only 2.4 percent of about 6,000 parents were
reluctant to participate in anti-drugs activities, mainly because they
were not concerned about drug problems.

The survey also found that a higher proportion of high-risk parents,
meaning those with children at the risk of taking drugs, and parents
with drug habits tend to adopt a "neglectful" attitude to children.

Choi said a scheme would be launched to provide mental and physical
assessment to the high-risk youngsters.