Man and woman convicted and jailed for dealing with and possessing duty-not-paid cigarettes
A local man and an incoming female passenger were sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment and 14 weeks' imprisonment respectively at the Fanling Magistrates' Courts today (August 29) for dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes, and possessing duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).
Customs officers intercepted a 37-year-old local man who was pulling a batch of cargo with a pallet truck for inspection at the Chung Ying Street Checkpoint in Sha Tau Kok on February 24. A total of 329 400 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with a market value of about $1.3 million and a duty potential of about $1.1 million, were seized from 33 carton boxes of the consignment. He was subsequently arrested. The man was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment for dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes today.
In addition, Customs officers intercepted a 52-year-old incoming female passenger at the Heung Yuen Wai Control Point on August 12 and seized 1 981 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with a market value of about $8,900 and a duty potential of about $6,500, from the thermal bags in her possession. The passenger was subsequently arrested. She was sentenced to 14 weeks' imprisonment for possessing duty-not-paid cigarettes today.
Customs welcomes the sentence, noting that even a first-time offender may still be imprisoned. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences. Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, tobacco products are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.
Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Man and woman convicted and jailed for dealing with and possessing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Man and woman convicted and jailed for dealing with and possessing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Secretary for Health attends 20th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Macao
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, led a delegation to attend the 20th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao hosted by the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government in Macao today (January 15).
The annual Joint Meeting has long been a platform for senior medical and health officials as well as experts from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao to exchange views and share experiences on present-day medical and public health issues, as well as to promote healthcare service development. The Joint Meeting is hosted by the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in rotation.
The Minister of the National Health Commission, Mr Lei Haichao, and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, Ms O Lam, led senior health officials from the Mainland and the Macao SAR Government respectively to participate in the meeting. Members of the delegations of the three places today engaged in sharing and discussions over three major topics, namely nurturing interdisciplinary and composite talent in clinical management, disease prevention and control, and medical administration; strengthening primary healthcare services to safeguard community health, and the application of smart healthcare in the health sector.
Professor Lo said, "The Recommendations of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, features the term 'reform' 23 times, unequivocally underscoring the nation's steadfast commitment to deepening reforms. Hong Kong has consistently been playing an active role in the course of the country's reform and opening up. Serving as a 'super connector' between the Mainland and the world, Hong Kong also functions as an indispensable 'super value-adder', facilitating the nation's effort in going global while attracting foreign investment to the Mainland market.
"The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has consistently emphasised in the Policy Addresses of the past three years the HKSAR Government's full commitment to developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub, and to vigorously foster new quality productive forces. To achieve this significant objective, the HKSAR Government is actively advancing various initiatives, including the setting up of the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation within this year, with a view to establishing the Centre as an internationally recognised regulatory authority for medical products as soon as possible; the official launch of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform last month, enabling pharmaceutical companies to conduct trials simultaneously in Hong Kong and Shenzhen; as well as the commissioning of the Real-World Study and Application Centre to promote the standardisation of clinical data across the GBA."
The Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority (HA), Dr Libby Lee, and the Director of Cluster Services of the HA, Dr Wong Yiu-chung, moderated a discussion and gave a presentation on the application of smart healthcare in the health sector respectively. Meanwhile, the acting Deputy Director of Health, Dr Jackie Leung, and the Commissioner for Primary Healthcare, Dr Pang Fei-chau, delivered presentations on the topic of nurturing interdisciplinary and composite talent in clinical management, disease prevention and control, and medical administration; as well as on the topic of strengthening primary healthcare services to safeguard community health respectively.
Members of the HKSAR Government delegation included the Chairman of the HA, Mr Henry Fan, and the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, who concluded the discussion at the meeting.
Professor Lo will return to Hong Kong in the evening. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Cecilia Fan, is the Acting Secretary for Health.
Secretary for Health attends 20th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Macao Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Secretary for Health attends 20th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Macao Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
