More than100 youngsters make pledges to stay away from drugs during the opening ceremony of "Find My Way - Anti-drug Publicity Campaign" yesterday. The campaign aims to disseminate anti-drug messages to Hong Kong youths. Edmond Tang

HONG KONG: Children below the age of 16 should be banned from Internet cafes at certain times of the day in an effort to stop them from having access to drugs, an anti-drug panel proposed yesterday.

However, social workers and net cafe owners said such a measure will be of little help in keeping young people away from drugs as they can always find other means.

Speaking after a meeting with Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, Daniel Shek Tan-lei, chairman of the Action Committee Against Narcotics, said some members suggested tighter controls on access to Internet cafes among children below 16.

"Our understanding is that Internet cafes are a major source where teens (get and) take drugs. But now there is no restriction on their opening hours. According to reports of outreach social workers, some kids as young as seven or eight stay at Internet cafes overnight. So the government should consider restricting their access (to Internet cafes)," he said.

He noted that the public may have other views on the issue and said he will leave it to authorities to study the proposal.

Raymond Fung Hing-kau, the social work supervisor of the Caritas Hugs Centre, which helps young drug abusers to kick the habit, said teens may just turn to other places, such as parks and basketball courts, to take drugs if they are barred from net cafes.

Fung believed Internet bars are not popular among youngsters to take drugs and said teens mostly get drugs from their peers elsewhere.

Max Szeto Ming-wong, the superintendent of the Hong Kong Christian Service Jockey Club Lodge of Rising Sun, a drug treatment center in Tuen Mun, said the proposed initiative will be ineffective and it is more crucial for the government to change young people's views on drugs.

Edward Hung Ling-ki, the unit-in-charge of Sai Kung and Wong Tai Sin Outreaching Social Work Team of the Federation of Youth Groups, advised the government to increase social worker manpower to reach out to troubled kids instead of restricting their access to Internet bars.

Owners of Internet bars also voiced doubts on the effectiveness of the proposed restriction.

"Drug abuse is now more serious in schools rather than in Internet bars, but some teachers and principals are turning a blind eye on it. If the ban is imposed in net bars, something should be done at schools too," said an owner of a 24-hour net cafe in Causeway Bay surnamed Leung.

"I think the government is against the whole industry and it's unfair to us. Not every net bar has drug abuse problems. We want to keep good reputations, so we are indeed cautious towards what's happening in the bars."

He added the police could take initiatives to crack down on anything suspicious if they wish.

Alfred Chan Wing-kee, chairman of the Hong Kong Internet Cafe Association, said he was puzzled about the rationale behind the proposed ban.

He said such a measure will greatly affect business of the trade. "The swine flu outbreak and the financial crisis have already swept away 10 to 20 percent of the business of my bar. I think two-thirds of the bars in Hong Kong will close down if the ban is imposed," said Chan, providing that 30 to 40 percent of customers are younger than 16.

"Some 2,000 to 3,000 workers in net bars are teenagers with low education levels. If they lost their jobs due to the ban, it would lead to another batch of youngsters to take drugs," Chan said.

Paul Sargent, 20, an Internet cafe-goer, said summer is the prime time for youngsters visiting net bars as they can stay there all day with friends without spending a lot.

He said he opposed the tighter controls on net bars. "The ages of drug abusers are varied. They can be addicted to drugs no matter how old they are," said Sargent.

He also said Internet cafes are too open for drug transactions. "It is too easy for the staff here to spot anything suspicious when they walk around. The closed-circuit television also helps monitor what happens here," he said.

In addition, Shek said some panel members suggested authorities increase the number of sniffer dogs in the fight against drug trafficking.

He said some schools in Sha Tin and Yuen Long will invite the police to arrange well-trained dogs to show off their drug sniffing skills on campus in order to promote the anti-drug abuse message.

(HK Edition 07/17/2009 page1)