Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for possessing duty-not-paid cigarettes and importing alternative smoking products
An incoming passenger was sentenced to seven months' imprisonment and fined $600 by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (January 29) for possessing duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs officers, as well as for importing alternative smoking products, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO) and the Import and Export Ordinance (IEO).
Customs officers intercepted a 39-year-old incoming male passenger at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday (January 28) and seized about 32 000 duty-not-paid cigarettes and 16 000 alternative smoking products, with a total estimated market value of about $192,000 and a duty potential of about $105,000, from his personal baggage. He was subsequently arrested. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and fined $600 in contravention of the DCO and was sentenced to four months' imprisonment in contravention of the IEO today. Parts of the two sentences run concurrently, making for a total of seven months' imprisonment.
Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences.
Under the DCO, tobacco products 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.
Under the IEO, any person who imports an alternative smoking product into Hong Kong 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 or smuggling 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 possessing duty-not-paid cigarettes and importing alternative smoking products Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
CCIDA fosters Hong Kong and Beijing collaborations in art toys
The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, organised two intellectual property exchange events in Beijing today (January 29) with some 50 Hong Kong original art toy designers, Beijing academics, representatives of large-scale toy companies and media attending. The goal was to foster collaboration between Hong Kong and Beijing with regards to art toys.
The exchange events are an extension of the CCIDA-sponsored "Hong Kong Cultural and Creative Mosaic", co-organised by the Palace Museum Cultural and Creative Products of the Palace Museum in Beijing and CCIDA. The two exchange events were held respectively at the Tsinghua University Academy of Arts & Design and the headquarters of a renowned Chinese toy brand, 52 Toys, in Beijing, providing a platform for attending Hong Kong original art toy designers to introduce their works to potential collaboration partners in Beijing, and to share experiences and have creative exchanges with them. The six Hong Kong designers led by CCIDA will also attend an exchange session with representatives of another renowned Chinese toy brand, Pop Mart, tomorrow (January 30).
Attending the exchange event today, Assistant Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries Miss Yvonne Ip remarked that with more and more Hong Kong designers creating art toys in recent years, CCIDA has been actively supporting them to explore markets outside Hong Kong. Both the display of exhibits by Hong Kong designers at the Palace Museum Cultural and Creative Products Hong Kong Space and the sponsoring of their exchange opportunities in Beijing help strengthen the cultural co-operation between Hong Kong and the Mainland under the country's 15th Five-Year Plan. This further enhances Hong Kong's role as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchanges so that Hong Kong can serve and integrate better into the overall national development.
In addition, the exhibition themed under Hong Kongintangible cultural heritage at the "Hong Kong Cultural and Creative Mosaic" was concluded on January 25, and has another theme of art toys from January 28 to April 19. This is the first art toys event held at the Palace Museum. The remaining two themes after art toys will be fashion and accessories, and lifestyle.
Co-organised by CCIDA and the Beijing Palace Museum's brand, the Palace Museum Cultural and Creative Products, the "Hong Kong Cultural and Creative Mosaic" runs for a year starting from November 2025 at the Hong Kong Space with four consecutive themed displays of cultural and creative products. For more information on the "Hong Kong Cultural and Creative Mosaic", please visit hkccmosaic.com.
CCIDA fosters Hong Kong and Beijing collaborations in art toys Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
CCIDA fosters Hong Kong and Beijing collaborations in art toys Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
