Passenger Sentenced for Smuggling 795 Cigarettes, Fined $1,000 and Imprisoned for Four Weeks

Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for possession of duty-not-paid cigarettes

An incoming passenger was sentenced to four weeks' imprisonment with a fine of $1,000 by the Fanling Magistrates' Courts today (June 1) for possessing 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 59-year-old female passenger at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point on May 28 and seized 795 duty-not-paid cigarettes from her personal baggage. The estimated market value of the seized cigarettes was about $3,200, and the duty potential was about $2,600. She was subsequently arrested.

Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences. Members of the public should not defy the law.

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).

Source: AI-found images

Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for possession of duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Source: AI-found images

Companies fined $251,800 for contravening Employment Ordinance

Tai Pan Bread & Cakes Company Limited, Tai Pan Restaurant Company Limited and Vast Luck Limited were prosecuted by the Labour Department (LD) for violating the requirements under the Employment Ordinance (EO). The three companies pleaded guilty at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (June 1) and were fined a total sum of $251,800.

The three companies wilfully and without reasonable excuse contravened the requirements of the EO, failing to pay wages to a total of 47 employees within seven days after the expiry of the wage periods and the termination of employment contracts, totalling about $1,360,000. Vast Luck Limited failed to pay annual leave pay to one employee within the statutory time limit, amounting to around $7,600, and also failed to pay the awarded sum of about $81,000 to one employee within 14 days after the date set by the Labour Tribunal (LT).

"The ruling will disseminate a strong message to all employers that they have to pay wages to employees within the statutory time limit stipulated in the EO, as well as the sums awarded by the LT or the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board," a spokesman for the LD said.

"The LD will not tolerate these offences and will spare no effort in enforcing the law and safeguarding employees' statutory rights," the spokesman added.

Source: AI-found images