Three Incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes
Three incoming passengers were sentenced to two to six months' imprisonment and fined $1,000 respectively by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (May 18) 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 27, at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) on March 21. Customs officers seized about 40 600 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $182,700 and a duty potential of about $134,200, from his personal baggage. The passenger was subsequently arrested. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and fined $1,000 today.
Separately, Customs officers intercepted two incoming male passengers, aged 27 and 39, at HKIA on May 16 and seized around 16 500 duty-not-paid cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $68,000 and a duty potential of about $54,900, as well as around 60 400 duty-not-paid cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $271,800 and a duty potential of about $199,700, respectively, from their personal baggage. The two passengers were subsequently arrested. They were respectively sentenced to two months' imprisonment with a fine of $1,000, and six months' imprisonment with a fine of $1,000 today.
Customs welcomes the sentences. The custodial sentences have imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflect 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).
Three Incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Three Incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Three Incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
CHP's measles vaccination booth at airport to remain open until end of May
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (May 18) announced that the measles vaccination booth at the airport will remain open until May 30. The CHP urged eligible airport staff to take this opportunity to complete the free, two-dose measles vaccination course as soon as possible in order to strengthen herd immunity within the airport community and safeguard public health.
In mid-April, a cluster of measles infections involving three airport backend support staff was recorded in Hong Kong. Given the ongoing global measles outbreaks, the fact that airport staff frequently come into contact with large numbers of travellers and the higher proportion of non-locally born employees at some companies at the airport who may not have been vaccinated against measles during childhood, the CHP assessed that the risk of measles transmission within the airport community is relatively high. Therefore, the CHP set up a vaccination booth at the airport on April 24 to provide free measles vaccinations to Hong Kong airport staff who have not received two doses of the measles vaccine and have never had measles. This is intended to strengthen herd immunity within the airport community and safeguard public health. As of noon today, a total of 1 100 doses of measles vaccine had been administered to eligible airport staff members, including the contacts of the above-mentioned measles cluster.
Over the past month, the CHP has been closely monitoring the measles cluster involving airport backend support staff, and has completed medical surveillance of relevant close contacts. No further transmission has been detected. The CHP believed that the above-mentioned measles cluster is under control and that the transmission chain has been interrupted. Based on the results of the risk assessment and in order to make optimal use of public resources, the CHP's measles vaccination booth at the airport will remain open until the end of this month.
The CHP urged eligible airport staff to take this opportunity to visit the vaccination booth and complete the two-dose measles vaccination process as soon as possible. Those who have received their first dose of vaccine at the booth but cannot complete the second dose by the end of this month will be notified individually by the CHP regarding the arrangements for their second dose.
In addition, the CHP has recommended that the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) proactively enhances measles vaccination coverage among airport staff in the future to ensure immunity. Given the high proportion of nonlocally born staff, the onboarding of new recruits at the airport from time to time, and the possibility that these newly recruited nonlocally born staff may not have received measles vaccinations during childhood, the DH and AAHK will work with the airport community to step up measures and publicity to encourage airport staff to receive measles vaccinations, thereby reducing the risk of transmission.
So far this year, seven measles cases have been recorded in Hong Kong, including four imported cases and three local cases (two of which were epidemiologically linked to an imported case and all of which belonged to the abovementioned airport backend support staff cluster). In the past two years (2024 and 2025), 10 cases were recorded each year.
Measles outbreaks are currently occurring in many regions around the world. In recent years, North America (including the United States, Canada and Mexico) and Southeast Asia (including Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines) have seen persistent measles outbreaks due to low vaccination coverage. About 1 800 cases have been recorded in the United States so far this year, a figure significantly higher than the same period last year. In Europe, the number of measles cases in the United Kingdom and Spain has increased this year, with 542 and 110 cases recorded respectively since January. In Asia, measles remains prevalent in the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia. Japan has also seen a substantial rise in cases this year, with 462 cases recorded as of May 8, surpassing last year's total of 265 cases and marking the highest record since 2019. Singapore and Australia have reported 33 and 102 measles cases respectively this year, which is also higher than the same period last year. Most of the overseas cases involved individuals who were not vaccinated against measles or had an unknown vaccination status, highlighting the importance of maintaining a high vaccination rate and herd immunity within the community.
As a city with a high volume of international travel, Hong Kong faces the potential risk of importation of the measles virus and its spread in the local community. The CHP's territory-wide immunisation surveys showed that under the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme, the two-dose measles vaccination coverage has consistently stayed above 95 per cent. The local seroprevalence rates of measles virus antibodies reflect that most people in Hong Kong are immune to measles. However, measles is highly contagious. A small number of people who have not completed measles vaccinations (such as non-locally born people including new immigrants, foreign domestic helpers, overseas employees and people coming to Hong Kong for further studies) are still at risk of being infected and spreading measles to others without immunity against measles, such as children under one year old who have not yet received the first dose of the measles vaccine. Those who have unknown immunities against measles or need to receive measles vaccinations are urged to consult their doctor.
The Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme introduced a measles vaccine for the first time in 1967. Since then, the incidence of measles has gradually decreased. People born and raised in Hong Kong before 1967 can be considered to have acquired immunity to measles through natural infection, as measles was endemic in Hong Kong at that time. People born in Hong Kong in or after 1967 who have not yet completed the two doses of measles vaccination, or whose measles vaccination history is unknown, should consult their family doctors as soon as possible to complete the vaccination and ensure adequate protection against measles.
The incubation period of measles (i.e. the time from infection to onset of illness) is seven to 21 days. Symptoms include fever, skin rash, cough, runny nose and red eyes. If travellers returning from places with a high incidence or an outbreak of measles develop symptoms of measles (e.g. fever and rash), they should seek medical advice immediately and avoid contact with non-immune individuals, especially pregnant women and infants under 1 year old. They should also report their symptoms and prior travel history to healthcare workers so that appropriate infection control measures can be implemented at the healthcare facilities to prevent any potential spread.
Besides being vaccinated against measles, members of the public should take the following measures to prevent infection:
Maintain good personal and environmental hygiene;
Maintain good indoor ventilation;
Keep hands clean and wash them properly;
Wash hands when they are dirtied by respiratory seretions, such as after sneezing;
Cover the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing and dispose of nasal and mouth discharge properly;
Clean used toys and furniture properly; and
Persons with measles should be kept out of school untilfour days after the onset of a rash to prevent the spread of the infection to non-immune persons.
For more information on measles, the public may visit the CHP'smeasles thematic page. Members of the public who are going to travel can visit the website of the DH'sTravel Health Servicefor news of measles outbreaks outside Hong Kong.
CHP's measles vaccination booth at airport to remain open until end of May Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
