Hong Kong children drawn to crime as young as seven: survey

The age at which Hong Kong youngsters start committing crimes has dropped, with one getting involved at just seven years old, a survey has found.

A study by the non-profit Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups found that over 70 per cent of young people surveyed first offended when they were 15 or younger.

The organisation interviewed 151 offenders between the ages of 13 and 25. A total of 42 per cent said they had been arrested.

"People are getting involved in illegal activities at a younger and younger age. We have one case in which a youngster started selling items illegally at the age of seven," said Matthew Wong, a solicitor who provides legal counselling to the federation.

Among the youngsters surveyed, nearly 65 per cent said they had been triad members and 60 per cent said they were still at school when they first committed an offence.

"Most of these juvenile delinquents have had little education and have no skills and it's hard for them to find a proper job," said federation supervisor Wilson Chan Man-ho.

Chan urged the government to provide more training for school dropouts and more legal education in the classroom.