Two incoming passengers convicted and jailed for dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes and importing alternative smoking products
Two incoming passengers were sentenced to seven months' imprisonment and fined $500 respectively by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (February 23) for dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes, failing to declare them to Customs officers, as well as importing alternative smoking products, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO) and the Import and Export Ordinance (IEO).
Customs officers intercepted a 29-year-old incoming female passenger and a 35-year-old incoming male passenger at Hong Kong International Airport on December 18, 2025, and seized about 85 600 duty-not-paid cigarettes with a market value of about $385,000 and a duty potential of about $283,000, as well as six alternative smoking products with an estimated market value of about $1,080 from their personal baggage. The two passengers were subsequently arrested.
The two passengers were sentenced to seven months' imprisonment and fined $500 in contravention of the DCO, and were sentenced to one week's imprisonment in contravention of the IEO today. The sentences run concurrently.
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.
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 drug trafficking 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).
Two incoming passengers convicted and jailed for dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes and importing alternative smoking products Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hospital Authority's statement regarding suspected incident of patient data being leaked on third-party platform
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for the Hospital Authority (HA) made the following statement today (April 4) regarding the suspected incident of patient data being leaked on a third-party platform:
The HA's routine monitoring system detected at around 2am yesterday (April 3) a suspected case of patient data being taken without authorisation and leaked on a third-party platform. The HA promptly reported the matter to the Police and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data in the morning, and will fully co-operate with the Police investigation and actions.
The more than 56 000 patients involved in the incident are from the Kowloon East Cluster. The leaked data contains information including patients' names, gender, Hong Kong identity card numbers, hospital file numbers, and details of surgical procedures.
The HA sincerely apologises to the affected patients and will take all practicable measures to minimise the impact on patients. The HA will notify the affected patients via the "HA Go" mobile application, mail and phone calls as soon as possible. The Kowloon East Cluster has also set up a dedicated hotline at 5215 7326 for patient enquiries. The hotline operates Monday to Sunday from 9am to 6pm. Patients may also leave messages outside of hotline operating hours and staff will respond as soon as possible.
The HA takes cybersecurity very seriously, and has conducted a thorough review of its internal network systems upon discovering the incident, confirming that the systems are operating normally and securely, with no indication of a cyberattack or similar factors. The HA immediately suspended the contractor's system maintenance work.
The HA has been continuously implementing various measures to strengthen its healthcare systems, including ongoing enhancements to cybersecurity safeguards, user security awareness, cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, as well as network monitoring and incident response capabilities. The HA will also collaborate with law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity organisations to enhance cybersecurity, so as to ensure appropriate protection of hospital operations, patient services, and personal data security. The HA also urges affected patients to remain vigilant and be alert to whether their personal data may be used for other purposes, take steps to protect their personal data such as changing passwords, and seek police assistance if necessary.
Source: AI-found images
