Sexual Conviction Record Check Scheme expanded to cover prospective self-employed persons
To further strengthen the protection of children and mentally incapacitated persons (MIPs), the Government has expanded the Sexual Conviction Record Check (SCRC) Scheme to cover prospective self-employed persons today (December 16). Eligible applicants can submit applications through the new online applications platform and make appointments for fingerprint taking at one of the six 24-hour designated police stations in various districts.
A spokesperson for the Government said, "Prospective self-employed persons include, but are not limited to, private tutors, music teachers, sports coaches and persons providing door-to-door services. The SCRC Scheme remains voluntary in nature. Employers may decide whether the SCRC is necessary after assessing the risks. Applications are to be submitted by the eligible applicants."
Applicants can submit application forms and supporting documents, enquire about their application status and pay application fees via the Hong Kong Police Force Online Applications Platform (www.es.police.gov.hk). In addition to the SCRC Office at Police Headquarters in Wan Chai, the Police have introduced a 24-hour fingerprint-taking service across the territory in six designated police stations (North Point, Yau Ma Tei, Ngau Tau Kok, Tuen Mun, Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan) for greater flexibility in booking slots.
Moreover, the validity period of the applications submitted on or after December 16, 2024, will be extended from 18 months to 36 months to reduce the number of reapplications and renewal applications arising from expiry of the validity period.
"The multiple enhancement measures, including the launch of the online applications platform, introduction of a 24-hour fingerprint-taking service and extension of the validity period of applications, have greatly improved the system capacity and shortened the processing time for applications, bringing convenience to the public," the spokesman said.
The Government implemented the SCRC Scheme at the end of 2011 to enable employers of persons undertaking child-related or MIP-related work to check whether prospective employees eligible to use the SCRC Scheme have any criminal conviction records against a specified list of sexual offences. Before this expansion, the SCRC Scheme covered prospective employees, contract renewal staff and staff assigned by outsourced service providers to other organisations, who apply for child-related or MIP-related work to organisations or enterprises.
In May 2022, The Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong published a report on "Sentencing and Related Matters in the Review of Sexual Offences", which recommended the expansion of the SCRC Scheme to all existing employees, self-employed persons and volunteers.
"The Government agrees with and will implement the relevant recommendations in phases, with a view to strengthening the protection of children and MIPs while ensuring that the SCRC system has sufficient capacity," the spokesman said.
The Government will refer to the relevant experiences in expanding the scope of the SCRC Scheme to prospective self-employed persons in Phase 1, and consider expanding the scope to cover all volunteers as soon as one year later in Phase 2. The ultimate goal is to expand the SCRC Scheme to its fullest to cover all existing employees and self-employed persons. Details will be available nearer the time.
Online pre-registration for public observation for third round of evidential hearings of Independent Committee in relation to fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po
The following is issued on behalf of the Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po:
The Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po announced today (April 2) that members of the public may pre-register for selected hearings of the third round of seven evidential hearings that they wish to observe via the online system from 10am on April 8 to 10am on April 11.
The Committee will hear evidence in the evidential hearings on matters in accordance with its terms of reference. The Committee aims to clarify the relevant facts through oral evidence, written submissions, and other forms of evidence presented by witnesses. This will provide an important basis for the preparation of its report and recommendations.
The evidential hearings will be conducted in Cantonese from 10am to 1pm and from 2.15pm to 4.30pm at the Multi-purpose Hall, 3/F, City Gallery, 3 Edinburgh Place, Central. Simultaneous interpretation in Putonghua and English will be provided in the City Gallery.
The schedule for the third round of seven evidential hearings as announced earlier is as follows:
Date |
1. |
April 20 (Monday) |
2. |
April 21 (Tuesday) |
3. |
April 22 (Wednesday) |
4. |
April 23 (Thursday) |
5. |
April 24 (Friday) |
6. |
April 27 (Monday) |
7. |
April 30 (Thursday) |
In the third round of evidential hearings, the Committee will continue to receive oral evidence from witnesses. The Committee will release the list of exact witnesses who will be giving evidence at each date of hearing on its website (www.ic-wangfukcourtfire.gov.hk/eng/timetable.html) nearer the time.
Some seats for the hearings will be reserved for the involved parties, and some seats will be open to the public to observe the proceedings. To allow more members of the public to attend the hearings, the proceedings will be broadcast simultaneously in transmission areas set up on the ground floor of the City Gallery and in the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Central Library. Arrangements will be made for some members of the public to observe the hearings in these two areas. A total of about 360 seats will be available for public observation in the main venue and the two transmission areas. About half of the seats will be set aside for residents of Wang Fuk Court on a priority basis. Separate arrangements will be made for the media.
To avoid members of the public queuing outside the venue for a long time, and to allow those who wish to observe the hearings to have certainty of whether seats have been secured before the day of the hearings, for the third round of hearings, individuals (including Wang Fuk Court residents) are required to pre-register online (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ic-hearing/en/) from 10am on April 8 to 10am on April 11. Registrants should select on the online registration form the dates they wish to observe (one or more sessions can be selected) and submit the duly completed form. The Secretariat of the Committee will allocate seats on a first-come, first-served basis according to the system's record of the time the pre-registration forms are received.
Successful registrants will receive a "Confirmation of Successful Registration" for the third round of hearings issued by the Secretariat of the Committee by April 16. An SMS notification will be sent from the sender name "#IC-hearing". If an email address is also provided during pre-registration, an email notification will be sent from hearing@ic-wangfukcourtfire.gov.hk. Pre-registration will be considered unsuccessful for those who have not received a notification by that date. Each person can only pre-register for each day of hearing once. Duplicate registrations will not be processed.
According to the current plan, the Committee will continue to hold evidential hearings in May. Details (including the specific dates of the hearings, the witnesses who will be giving evidence, and the pre-registration arrangements for public observation) will be announced separately on a later date.
The Chief Executive established the Committee to review the causes of the fire at Wang Fuk Court and related issues, and to make recommendations to prevent similar incidents from occurring again. The Committee formally commenced its work on December 19, 2025, and the evidential hearings on March 19 to hear oral evidence from witnesses (including oral evidence from Wang Fuk Court residents and the involved parties).
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