Passenger Convicted and Jailed for Importing Duty-Not-Paid Cigarettes Worth About $62,100 at Airport

Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes

An incoming male passenger was sentenced to five months' imprisonment and fined $2,000 by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (August 31) 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 a 28-year-old incoming Mainland male passenger at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday (August 30) and seized about 13, 800 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $62,100 and a duty potential of about $45,600, 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).

An incoming male passenger was sentenced to five months' imprisonment and fined $2,000 by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (August 31) for importing of duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance. Photo shows the duty-not-paid cigarettes seized. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Public rental housing resident sentenced to imprisonment for making false statement

A public rental housing (PRH) resident was suspected of contravening the Housing Ordinance for making a false statement by declaring that he did not own any property. He was convicted in Shatin Magistrates' Courts today (August 31) and sentenced to imprisonment, a spokesman for the Housing Department (HD) said today.

The PRH resident living in Wo Che Estate in Shatin declared in a 2025 Income and Assets Declaration Form that he did not have any domestic property in Hong Kong. Investigation by the HD revealed that he had a domestic property in Tai Po at the material time.

Having considered the gravity of the offence and the precious PRH resources involved, the PRH resident was sentenced to six-week imprisonment, to be served immediately. The HD will proceed to recover the subject PRH flat.

The HD reminded that, PRH residents and subsidised housing applicants should dutifully declare their income, assets, and properties, and accurately complete their Income and Assets Declaration Forms. PRH residents should also read the content and completion guidelines of the Declaration Forms carefully and compute their income and assets in accordance with the methods specified.

The HD will continue to adopt multipronged measures to combat the abuse of PRH in a comprehensive manner.

Source: AI-found images