C .520 M . 3 3 2 V33.XE

O C /A R 1835 A 3?

GOVERNMENT

AND O' GEROUS

KONG

1935

IN OPIUM

PRINTED BT

& COMPANY, HONG KONG.

REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF HONG KONG

FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR 1935 ON THE TRAFFIC IN OPIUM

AND OTHER DANGEROUS DRUGS.

A.—General.

I. L a w s a n d P u b l i c a t i o n s .

(1) The Opium Ordinance (No. 7 of 1932) controls the movement of Raw Opium, and the Dangerous Drugs Ordin­ance (No. 22 of 1923), which was in force during the period under review, controls the movement and sale of Dangerous Drugs. A new Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (No. 35 of 1935) was passed and it was by proclamation announced that this Ordinance with the Regulations made thereunder (Appendices V and VI) should come into force on January 1st, 1936. Codeine and Dionin and their salts are treated as Dangerous Drugs for purposes of import, export, wholesale trade and manufacture only by proclamation under Section 20 (2) of the above ordinance.

(2) The two ordinances mentioned cover in the essentials the various recommendations of the League’s Advisory Com­mittee . The “ Import Certificate” system worked satisfactorily and all licenses to import are specially endorsed “ for use for Medicinal Purposes in the Colony and Not to be re-exported The question of practice with regard to countries which have not yet adopted the system did not arise. No difficulties arose with regard to Raw Opium or Dangerous Drugs in transit.

(3) There were no local publications of importance,

II. A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .

(1) There were no important local modifications in the administrative arrangemènts. for the execution of the International Conventions and no special difficulties were encountered.

(2) The situation as regards Diacetylmorphine (Heroin) Pills has become a matter of grave concern to the Hong Kong Government. The consumption of these pills is increasing rapidly and the frequenters of divans are in at least thirty per cent of the divans given the choice of Prepared . Opium or Pills. Large pill divans were also discovered in which smokers were catered for on a lavish scale—tea and refresh­ments being provided. The import of the pills from Shanghai appears to have been discontinued, and there is no doubt that during the year under review, they were largely manu­factured locally. The factories' are usually a cubicle or floor in a tenement house, and the essential apparatus consists of the ordinary druggist-type hand pill machines, scales and weights, pestles and mortars and a drying cupboard. The latter is operated by means of charcoal fires or electricity. During the year two fires were reported by the police which, upon investigation, were found to have originated in pill drying cupboards. Dionin and Codeine were occasionally found in pink pills similar in appearance to those now under discus'sion, and in one factory two types of pills were being manufactured, (a) containing Diacetylmorphine and (b) con­taining Codeine Phosphate. It is thought that Dionin and Codeine were used owing to the fact that they were cheaper and more easily obtained than Diacetylmorphine, but smokers were definitely of the opinion that pills containing these drugs were not equal to those containing Diacetylmorphine. The price of these pills varied according to quality from H.K. $0.10 to H.K. $0.20 for ten pills'. Caffeine was invariably found in these pills of all types, and it is certain that it is regarded as an essential ingredient. Large imports of Caffeine were noted during the year and steps have been taken to have all such imports separately recorded from January 1st, 1936. Further remarks bearing on the pill situation will be found under V.

I I I . C o n t r o l o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l T r a d e .

(1) As already stated Import Certificates are issued for local use only.

(2) These certificates are issued by the Superintendent of Imports and 'Exports. Diacetylmorphine must be con­signed to the Director of Medical and Sanitary Services who wilt hand the consignment over to the consignee.

(3) The. question of diversion or transit certificates did not arise. No diversion would be allowed without close scrutiny and a ll , shipments of opium and drugs in transit through the Colony with or without transhipment Etre

scrutinised.

(4) Exporting countries regularly send copies of export authorisations, and these, after being checked against actual imports, are returned to the issuing authority if such return has been requested.

(5) No forged documents in connection with the move­ment of Opium or Dangerous Drugs were discovered.

(6) No difficulties (except the special case mentioned below) arose with regard to transit, transhipment or diversion and there is no free zone in Hong Kong. Opium or Dangerous Drugs held in Hong Kong for a few days pending transhipment on through Bills'of Lading are stored in bonded warehouses. ’ ' v . •

Two shipments of Dover’s Powder arrived in Hong Kong towards the end of the year, the net weight of the powder being 1,362 pounds. The consignments' (which were con­signed as “ Ipecacuanha Powder ” ) were forwarded by a well known firm in Germany to their agents in Canton, but the shipping documents were made out to the agents in Hong Kong. The powder was stated to be intended for the Fourth Route Army, and was to be imported into China under a “ Huchao ” issued by the South West Political Council. No export authorisation from Germany was produced and no import authorisation from the Central Chinese Government had been produced up to the end of the year. The consign­ments have meanwhile been detained in Hong Kong pending receipt of instructions from the Secretary of State for the Colonies. The false description of the powder may, of course, have been intentional.

(7) There was no traffic with countries which have not adopted the certificate system.

(8) There were no changes in the application of the system to Indian Hemp which is, treated as a Dangerous Drug. . ____

IV. I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o- O p e r a t i o n .

(1) Hong Kong being a dependency of Great Britain has no power to conclude international treaties or agreements.

(2) Hong Kong has continued to co-operate on every possible occasion with other Governments. Where possible communication is made direct by the Superintendent of Imports and Exports to the responsible authority in Far Eastern Colonies, and in other cases, communication has been effected through the usual diplomatic channels. In addition to the British Colonies special contact has been made with the departments concerned in the United States and in Java.

V. I l l i c i t T r a f f i c .

- (1)—a. The traffic in Diacetylmorphine pills has increased enormously. During the year 654,233 of these pills were seized in 310 cases and the majority of these seizures were in amounts of under 500 pills in course of use in pill and opium divans. There was no direct evidence of the import and export of these pills. All indications go to show that they are manufactured in Hong Kong in small hand-type (as against regular mechanical type) factories. These factories' do not appear to remain in one building for many weeks ; the pills after manufacture are immediately passed on to wholesale distributors. During the year a Chinese female who was killed in attempting to alight from a moving bus was found to be carrying 6,000 of these pills on her person. In another case a cubicle on a floor of a house was raided and found to be a distributing centre. Whilst the officers were carrying out their investigations a Chinese female walked in. She was carrying a parcel in which 3,000 pills were found and con­cealed on her person were another 5,000 pills.

b. There were no large seizures' of Dangerous Drugs during the year but two seizures were of considerable im­portance. (1) s.s. “ Tjisaroea” case in which 64 ounces of Diacetylmorphine were seized (with Iranian Opium mentioned below). The Diacetylmorphine was in paper packets and there was nothing to indicate its country of origin. (2) To­wards the end of the year a Diacetylmorphine pill factory was raided and a large quantity of Diacetylmorphine pills (also Codeine pills) were seized. On the premises a full tin containing 16 ounces of Diacetylmorphine was found, a similar empty tin, and a paper packet containing one ounce of the same drug. The labels on the tins had been obliterated but

the contained 16 ounce parcel of Diacetylmorphine bore a label of the “ Japan Pharmaceutical Establishment, Osaka Remains of a blue stamp label issued by the same factory were on the outside of each tin and all three labels bore a @ device. On the same premises' six bottles containing 10 grams each of Codeine phosphate were seized. These bottles bore labels issued by the factory mentioned above, the same (?) device (which appears to be a trade mark) and a label with the words in English “ Codeinum Phosphoricum— Dai Nippon Kabushkikaisha, Osaka, Tokyo ” . There is of course no record of the import of these drugs from Japan and the four Chinese found on the premises were not authorised persons. All were convicted at subsequent legal proceedings. Large quantities of pill making materials were found on the premises. An interesting point in connection with this case was that in a pill factory raided earlier in the year a similar empty tin with obliterated labels was found. The Diacetyl­morphine found in this case alone would have been made into about half a million of the usual pills.

c. The seizures of Iranian raw opium during the year showed an increase as regards the number of cases and the amount seized. There was however a falling off in the number of seizures' of raw Chinese opium and a marked decrease in the amount seized, mainly due to the absence of very large seizures similar to those of 1934.

The s. s. “ T jisaroea” seizure (referred to under Diacetylmorphine above) was of 1,200 taels of raw Iranian opium. The opium (and drug) were found in a consignment of nine cases of leather suit cases shipped from Shanghai to Batavia without transhipment in Hong Kong. Special cavities had been cut in the boards from which the sides of the packing cases were made and the opium and drug were con­cealed in these cavities. The conditions under which other large seizures of Iranian raw opium were made during the year indicated that it was intended for export to Singapore or Java and very little was found passing into Hong Kong consumption. Most of the Raw Chinese Opium seized appeared to be intended for Hong Kong consumption and it was noted that many large seizures of this type of opium came via ports south of the Colony and not via Wuchow.

Many seizures of the “ concealed on the person ” or of the “ personal baggage ” types were made on the British Section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway, and in addition several cases of dumping parcels of raw opium from trains in motion also occurred. On raw opium which came into the Colony by train the well known Kwong Tung Pagoda Labels were often superimposed upon the Kwong Si Anti Opium Bureau Labels. Chinese raw opium from ports south of the Colony did not bear these labels. A large percentage of the Chinese raw opium seized was of the usual “ bamboo cake ” type, but in some cases it was of a special semi-prepared dried type, and in a few cases the packages were of the “ pillow ” type of packing.

It was stated in last year’s report that “ as in the case of Prepared Opium, Raw Opium is flowing into Hong Kong in a steady stream, concealed in goods or carried by passengers and workers on steamers, launches, sampans, junks and trains. If it is landed in quiet spots and trans­ferred to motor cars or lorries its detection is extremely difficult.” Unfortunately this is still true. The geographical position and natural features of the Colony render effectual preventive measures well-nigh impossible, for, while a long and indented coastline offers countless opportunities for the landing of contraband from junks and sampans, the enormous number of Chinese, who daily enter the Colony by steamer, boat, rail, or on foot over the land border, renders' compre­hensive 'search at entry impossible. As regards measures against the distributing centres, the distress' existing among the poorer classes both in South China and the Colony has provided an army of agents and catspaws for whom imprisonment has no terrors'. So long as such people are available in unstinted numbers there is little hope of arrest­ing, save perhaps in rare cases, the real movers in the illicit trade, who seldom visit the Colony, and never handle the drugs themselves.

(2) No Poppy, Coca Plants or Indian Hemp plants are cultivated in Hong Kong.

(3) The number of prosecutions for offences against the Dangerous: Drugs Ordinances is given in Appendix III. In the case of Diacetylmorphine Pills it should be noted that the same person has on many occasions been charged with offences under the Opium Ordinance at the same time and place. Full details of all Opium prosecutions are given in

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Appendix IV which is repeated from the report on Prepared Opium. The usual penalty for possession of raw opium is H.K. $30 per tael with a maximum of H.K. $5,000, with alternative imprisonment up to one year.

(4) As stated above all important cases have already been reported to the League of Nations.

(5) Full details of all Dangerous Drugs and Raw Opium seized are given in Appendices I, IIA and IIB .

(6) The price of raw Chinese opium was approximately constant at H.K. $1.50 to H.K. $2.00 per tael during the year.

VI. O t h e r . I n f o r m a t i o n .

All available information has been given. No imports or movements of Acetic Anhydride were noticed during the year. All drugs, pills, etc., were destroyed together with tlie large seizures of Diacetylmorphine and Crude Morphine reported in 1934.

B.—Raw Materials.

VII. R a w O p i u m .

Raw Opium is not produced in Hong Kong.

VIII. C o c a L e a f .

No Coca (Exythroxylum Coca or Exythroxylum Truxil- ense) is grown in Hong Kong.

I X . I n d i a n H e m p .

The plant (Cannabis Sativa) does not grow wild and is not cultivated in Hong Kong.

C.—M anufactured Drugs.

X . I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n t r o l o f M a n u f a c t u r e d D r u g s .

(1) There is no manufacture of dangerous drugs in Hong Kong.

(2) Please see (1) above.

(3) Please see (1) above.

(4) a. The only persons authorised to trade in dangerous drugs are registered chemists and to these only are licences to import issued. Doctors, dentists and veterinarians are the only persons authorised to possess and prescribe these drugs.

b. There are no wholesale dealers and the books and stocks of registered chemists are checked from time to time. Such inspections showed that the traffic through legitimate channels was in order.

D.—Other Questions.

XI. C h a p t e r IV o f t h e H a g u e O p i u m C o n v e n t i o n o f 1932.

No further information is available under this head.

XII. P r e p a r e d O p i u m .

Please see special report on Prepared Opium.

XIII. O t h e r D r u g s .

Hong Kong does not appear to possess any traffic under this heading. Careful watch is however kept for the appear­ance of such drugs in the local market.

A ppendix I.

D A N G ERO U S D RUGS.

S e i z u r e s M a d e D u r i n g 1935.

Substance.

Q uantity seized on account of illicit Im port and Export.

Quantity seized under other

Circumstances (chiefly found in Opium Divans or

Pill Divans).

Total Quantity Seized.

Total Quantity Confiscated.

M anner of Disposal.

Diacetylmorphine Pills ............... — 654,233 pills 654,233 pills 654,233 pills Destroyed

Diacetylmorphine ....................... - 83J ounces 8 3 | ounces 8 3 | ounces Destroyed

Codeine Pills ................................. --- 40,797 pills 40,797 pills 40,797 pills Destroyed

Codeine Phosphate ....................... — 6^ ounces 6^ ounces 6^ ounces Destroyed

Dionin Pills .................................... — 2,209 pills 2,209 pills 2,209 pills Destroyed

Dionin ............................................... — 93 grains 93 grains 93 grains Destroyed

A ppendix IIA.

M a j o r S e i z u r e s o f E a w O p i u m d u r i n g t h e Y e a r 1935.

Place of Seizure. Kind of Opium. Taels.Destination indicat

b y Circumstances of Seizure.

41 Q ueen’s Road W est. 1st floor ................ Chinese, Raw 2,750 Hong Kong.

Y aum ati Typhoon Shelter ............................. Iranian, Raw 816 For export.

Oil L ighter Po Kai a t Bay View ............. Chinese, Raw 2,230 Hong Kong.

B oat 4516A at Gin D rinker’s Bay ................ Chinese, Raw 950 Hong Kong.

Ju n k near Ferry W harf, Sham Shui Po... Chinese, Raw 1,320 Hong Kong.

Ju n k in Yaum ati Typhoon Shelter ............ Chinese, Raw 980 Hong Kong.

S.S. Wing Wo in the H arbour of Victoria Chinese, Raw 940 Hong Kong.

Saigon W harf .............................. ....................... Iranian, Raw 1,360 For export.

S.S. Toi Shan ................................................. Chinese, Raw 900 Hong Kong.

60 Catchick Street, 1st floor ......................... Chinese, Raw 550 Hong Kong.

Nam Cheong Street .......................................... Chinese, Raw 880 H ong Kong.

Boat a t Kennedy Town ................................. Chinese, Raw 700 H ong Kong.

B oat a t Gin D rinker’s Bay ............................. Chinese, Raw 1,824 Hong Kong.

Railway Station, Tsim Sha Tsui ................ Chinese, Raw 600 Hong Kong.

S.S. Ping Tsi ................................................... Chinese, Raw 510 H ong Kong.

Fishing B oat at Cheung Chau Island ...... Chinese, Raw 2,450 Hong Kong.

Sea-shore near Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon ....... Chinese, Raw 850 Hong Kong.

S.S. Gaasterkerk .............................................. Iranian, Raw 2,748 Singapore or Ja

24 W ai Ching Street, ground floor ................ Chinese, Raw 1,730 Hong Kong.

F isherm an’s hut, L am m a Island ................ Chinese, Raw 2,886 For export.

S.S. Tjisaroea ................................................... Iranian, Raw 1,200 Batavia.

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A ppendix IIB.

S e i z u r e s o f R a w O p i u m d u r i n g t h e Y e a r 1935 .

Raw Chinese Opium ........................................ 38,860 taels.

Raw Iranian Opium ........................................ 7,473 taels.

Total ..................... 46,333 taels.

Total Num ber of Seizures 585.

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Appendix III.

P r o s e c u t i o n u n d e r t h e D a n g e r o u s D r u g s O r d i n a n c e

No. 22 o f 1923.

Total Numbur of cases.

Total Num ber of persons charged.

Number of persons convicted.

Num ber of per sons discharged.

393 417 343 64

N o t e :— (1) During the year 99 persons were deported after comple­tion of their sentence under the Dangerous Drugs Ordin­ance and 34 persons were deported after completion of their sentences under the Dangerous Drugs and Opium Ordinances.

(2) All persons convicted were of the Chinese race and all charges related to Diacetylmorphine Pills.

(3) Fines inflicted varied from H .K . $50 to H .K . $2,500 andwere seldom paid. For small am ounts of D iacetyl­morphine Pills th e usual penalty was a fine of $1 per pill w ith the alternative of imprisonm ent up to one year.

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Appendix IV.

N u m b e r o f P r o s e c u t i o n s , C o n v i c t i o n s a n d S e n t e n c e s f o r

I n f r i n g e m e n t s o f t h e R e g u l a t i o n s r e l a t i n g t o R a w

a n d P r e p a r e d O p i u m d u r i n g t h e Y e a r 1935.

Prosecutions.

2,876

Convictions.

2,656

Acquittals.

219

N o t e : —In m any cases one person was charged for more than one offence against the Opium Ordinance. The above, therefore, includes all Opium cases including Raw Opium.

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A ppendix V.

D a n g e r o u s D r u g s O r d i n a n c e N o . 35 o f 1935.

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A ppendix VI.

D a n g e r o u s D r u g s R e g u l a t i o n s .