Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes
An incoming passenger was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and fined $3,000 by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (May 15) for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).
Customs officers intercepted an incoming male passenger, aged 34, at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday (May 14) and seized 50 190 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $205,800 and a duty potential of about $165,900, 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 importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
SCS visits Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency
The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, visited the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency (WFSFAA) this afternoon (May 15) to learn about the department's recent efforts in applying technology and enhancing service quality and efficiency. She also exchanged views with staff representatives from various grades in the department.
Accompanied by the Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Ms Shirley Lam, Mrs Yeung first met with the Head, WFSFAA, Mr Gilford Law, and the directorate staff and received a briefing on the latest developments of the department, as well as various dedicated financial assistance and loan schemes to support children and youths receiving education and encourage household members to stay in active employment.
Mrs Yeung then proceeded to the Counter Service Unit to understand the work of frontline staff in vetting financial assistance and loan applications. During the visit, the staff introduced the department's Online Counter Appointment System, which allows applicants to make appointments for services, reducing on-site waiting time. It also enables front-line staff to prepare for cases in advance, thereby enhancing processing efficiency.
The WFSFAA staff demonstrated to Mrs Yeung the department's AI chatbot mascot S. Buddy on-site. Since its launch in 2023, the chatbot has been providing round-the-clock instant enquiry services on the department's website, handling an average of about 15 000 enquiries per month in the last financial year. In addition to providing information on various application schemes, S. Buddy is the first chatbot on government websites to provide real-time updates of application progress.
Mrs Yeung encouraged the department to make good use of technology, optimise the use of civil service manpower resources and continue to enhance work effectiveness.
In the Loan Management Division, staff introduced the work on processing applications for non-means-tested loan schemes for post-secondary and tertiary students, and arranging repayments. Through continuous enhancement of the Student Finance Office E-link service on the e-service platform "eWFSFAA", services under student financial assistance schemes are digitised to facilitate applicants' online submissions of applications as well as financial assistance and loan account management, including uploading supporting documents, checking application progress, viewing loan statements and repayment statuses, and making online repayments. In addition, the WFSFAA has established a data matching mechanism with relevant government departments and tertiary institutions to more effectively verify the authenticity of application materials.
The WFSFAA is currently exploring the use of an in-house developed computer programme to automate certain repetitive and simple workflows. Examples include instructing the loan management system to automatically update repayment records based on autopay repayment failure reports, and assisting in collecting and organising public transport fare information available online to facilitate the calculation of student travel subsidy amounts. These save certain manual data entry work and improve efficiency and service quality.
Before concluding her visit, Mrs Yeung met with staff representatives from various grades in the department to exchange views on matters of concern to them.
SCS visits Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
SCS visits Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
SCS visits Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
SCS visits Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
