Clause 9

by inserting, immediately after subsection (1), the following subsections:“(1A) The Minister may appoint such number of Assistant Public Guardians as the Minister thinks necessary to assist the Public Guardian in the proper discharge of the Public Guardian’s functions.(1B) An Assistant Public Guardian may exercise all the powers of the Public Guardian, except the powers exercisable under subsections (3) and (4).”;

by deleting the words “appoint a person” in subsection (2) and substituting the words “appoint an Assistant Public Guardian or any other person”; and

by deleting subsection (9) and substituting the following subsection:“(9) The Public Guardian and every Assistant Public Guardian are deemed to be public servants for the purposes of the Penal Code (Cap. 224).”.