Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for possession of duty-not-paid cigarettes
An incoming passenger was sentenced to 50 days' imprisonment and fined $1,000 by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (December 5) for 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 60-year-old incoming male passenger at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port yesterday (December 4). A total of 9 200 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $41,000 and a duty potential of about $30,000, were seized from his personal baggage. The passenger was subsequently arrested.
Customs welcomes the sentence. 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, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven 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).
Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for possession of duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures Released
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (December 5) that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to US$429.4 billion as at the end of November 2025 (end-October 2025: US$426.1 billion) (Annex).
There were no unsettled foreign exchange contracts at end-November and end-October 2025.
The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$429.4 billion represent over five times the currency in circulation or about 38
per cent of HongKong dollar M3.
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At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of December 2025, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
December5 |
SDDS International Reserves
(Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures) |
December12 |
SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank
(Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund) |
December31 |
SDDS Template on International Reserves and
Foreign Currency Liquidity |
December31 |
Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and
Currency Board Account |
Source: AI-found images
