SLW to visit Beijing
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, will depart for Beijing tomorrow (May 26). The Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Ms Alice Lau; the Director of Social Welfare, Mr Edward To; and the Commissioner for Labour, Mr Sam Hui, will join the visit.
While in Beijing, Mr Sun and the delegation will call on the Ministry of Commerce, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. He will also meet with representatives of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the China Enterprise Confederation and the International Labour Organization. Mr Sun and the delegation will also visit local elderly facilities.
Mr Sun will return to Hong Kong in the afternoon of May 28. In his absence, the Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Ho Kai-ming, will be the Acting Secretary for Labour and Welfare.
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, Photo source: reference image
Two incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes
Two incoming passengers were sentenced to six months' imprisonment with a fine of $1,000, and five months' imprisonment with a fine of $1,000 respectively by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (May 26) 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 two incoming male passengers, aged 36 and 44, at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday (May 25) and seized 51 000 duty-not-paid cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $209,000 and a duty potential of about $169,000, as well as around 38 500 duty-not-paid cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $158,000 and a duty potential of about $127,000, from their personal baggage respectively. The two passengers were subsequently arrested. They were respectively sentenced to six months' imprisonment with a fine of $1,000, and five 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).
Two incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Two incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
