Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR, Sunday withdrew and suspended proposed legislation to reduce the age of criminal responsibility to 14, urging lawmakers to reevaluate the impact of the provision.

It was the first time the government has rejected proposed legislation and called for further discussion.

The provision entered the legislative process this February, the Government Information Bureau of Macao told the Global Times.

In reaction to the soaring juvenile crime rate this year, some parents and lawmakers were pushing the legislative council to pass legislation which would have held juveniles as young as 14 years legally liable for their crimes.

According to the Macao Daily, any 14-year-old offender would be punished or face criminal charges if they committed one of three "extremely serious crimes" – causing deaths, causing severe bodily harm, and committing out sexual assault if the law was passed.

While the legislation is still under debate among lawmakers and social workers, some academic experts supported Ho's decision, citing that resetting the age of criminal liability would not help reduce the juvenile crime rate.

"The government should instead focus on providing young teens with better education and public consultation than resetting the penal code," an unnamed expert told the China News Service.

In February, however, Cheong Weng Chon, director for the Legal Affairs Bureau, claimed that a formal criminal justice system was needed for educational purposes, and to increase vigilance among teenagers.

"The research showed Macao teenagers' intellect and consciousness reached maturity generally at the age of 14," said Cheong. "Thus they should hold responsibility for what they have done."

The government disclosed this month that there were a total of 53 juvenile criminal cases in Macao, with more than 85 underage teens involved.

Between 1999 and 2008, only six juvenile offenders were sent to reform school for having been convicted "mainly of rape and making a serious physical assault upon others," the Macao Daily reported in February.

(Global Times August 11, 2009)