Latest news with #CustomsandExciseDepartment
HKFP
3 days ago
- Business
- HKFP
Ex-district councillor's candle shop inspected by Hong Kong customs officers on eve of Tiananmen anniversary
Hong Kong customs officers inspected ex-district councillor Katrina Chan's incense shop for hours on the eve of the Tiananmen crackdown anniversary, accusing her of failing to comply with product safety regulations. Two plainclothes officers, who later introduced themselves as Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) personnel, visited Chan's shop, Heung Together, in Dragon Centre in Sham Shui Po with three other customs officers on Tuesday evening. The plainclothes officers bought products from the shop twice within the span of 20 minutes on Tuesday evening. They told her she was suspected of violating the Consumer Goods Safety Regulation because she had failed to include bilingual safety labels on products. Inspections of the products lasted more than four hours, from 7.30pm to around 11.40pm, after the mall had already closed. The officers photographed and seized some of the products Chan was selling but did not arrest her. Candles for $6.4 Chan, who served as Tsuen Wan district councillor from 2019 to 2021, sold soy wax candles for '$6.4' on Tuesday, one day before June 4, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. A customs officer at the scene said that Tuesday's operation was part of a routine inspection. When asked if the team had inspected other shops at Dragon Centre on the same day, he said he could not reveal operational details. At least five other plainclothes officers, who a customs officer said were not part of the department's team, stood in the vicinity of the shop, regularly rotating positions. Just before midnight, two of the officers identified themselves as police officers to Chan, saying they were at the scene to observe the customs officers and that they did not know the other unidentified men in plainclothes. Throughout the inspections, Chan said the presence of the unidentified men left her feeling uneasy. When reporters on the scene began recording the exchange between Chan and the two police officers, the officers asked them to stop, saying it was a 'private conversation.' HKFP has reached out to the C&ED and the police force for comment. Chan said last month that she was being 'silenced' after being ousted from her job and a theatre production she was part of. In May last year, she and five others were arrested under the city's homegrown security law, also known as Article 23. Their arrests were linked to a Facebook page called 'Chow Hang-tung Club,' named after the activist who was the vice chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. The Alliance once organised the city's annual Tiananmen vigils until Hong Kong police banned the Tiananmen vigil gathering at Victoria Park for the first time in 2020, citing Covid-19 restrictions. The ban was imposed again in 2021, nearly a year after a national security law imposed by Beijing came into effect. The Tiananmen crackdown occurred on June 4, 1989, ending months of student-led demonstrations in China. It is estimated that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when the People's Liberation Army cracked down on protesters in Beijing.
South China Morning Post
06-05-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong to review regulations after abrupt closure of Alliance Medical Group
Hong Kong's leader has vowed to better protect consumer rights by studying the possibility of introducing a statutory cooling off period or limiting the maximum duration of prepaid healthcare contracts, after the abrupt closure of a medical group. Advertisement Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday also pledged to pursue legal options and hold to account the relevant people behind Alliance Medical Group, whose sudden closure prompted over 1,400 complaints to police and the Customs and Excise Department, and more than 2,000 to the city's consumer watchdog so far. The government set up an interdepartmental task force to handle the matter last week after customers discovered the group's two clinics in Tsim Sha Tsui and Sha Tin had closed without warning. The company offered prepaid vaccination packages for children, among other services. Lee said his administration would review current regulations, in light of the incident. 'Currently, the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance regulates the facilities and safety of healthcare services, while prepaid consumption is governed by contracts,' he said ahead of his weekly meeting with advisers in the Executive Council on Tuesday. Advertisement 'The government will examine whether the existing regulations are adequate, particularly for prepaid consumption, and consider various proposals, including the introduction of a statutory cooling off period, limiting the maximum contract period.'
HKFP
06-05-2025
- Health
- HKFP
Hong Kong authorities, consumer watchdog receive over 1,900 complaints about medical group's sudden closure
Hong Kong authorities have received more than 1,300 complaints about the suspected closure of a medical company specialising in health checks and vaccinations, while another 600 complaints have been filed with the city's consumer watchdog. The complaints arose after customers discovered the Alliance Medical Group (AMG) clinics in Tsim Sha Tsui and Sha Tin were shut on Friday without prior notice. Many parents said on social media that they had purchased AMG vaccination packages for their children and were worried they might not be able to complete the inoculation course. As of 5pm on Sunday, the police force and the Customs and Excise Department had received a total of 1,356 reports about the closure, according to local media on Monday. Separately, the Consumer Council recorded 600 complaints involving approximately HK$3.4 million as of 5pm on Sunday, local media also reported. Around 450 of these complaints were related to the clinics' closure, while the rest concerned contract termination, sales methods, and service delays. The medical company's website and YouTube channel were still available on Monday evening, but its Facebook and Instagram accounts were no longer accessible. Local media outlet HK01 reported on Thursday that the sign outside the AMG office in Kwun Tong had been removed.
South China Morning Post
01-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Man arrested over arriving in Hong Kong with HK$5.4 million of cannabis
Hong Kong customs officers have arrested a man after he allegedly arrived on a flight to the city from Thailand with cannabis buds worth about HK$5.4 million (US$696,200) in his suitcase. Advertisement The Customs and Excise Department said on Thursday that the 49-year-old man had flown into the city from Bangkok the day before. During customs clearance, officers discovered 25kg (55lbs) of suspected cannabis in his checked-in suitcase. The man was immediately arrested and charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The case is scheduled to be taken up at West Kowloon Court on Friday. The public has been urged to remain alert and not accept any monetary return for drug trafficking activities. Photo: Handout Customs urged the public to remain alert and not accept any monetary return for drug trafficking activities.
South China Morning Post
26-04-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
How the coming new anti-smoking measures in Hong Kong will affect you
Hong Kong authorities have revealed more details on eight of the 10 tobacco control measures in an amended bill on Friday, including a ban on possessing alternative smoking products (ASPs) starting from April 30 next year. Advertisement The sale of conventional smoking products with flavours other than menthol are also expected to be banned from the second quarter of 2027. The measures aim to cut the city's smoking rate to 7.8 per cent by this year, from the current 9.1 per cent. The Post unpacks the measures and what they mean for residents and tourists. 1. What are alternative smoking products? Am I allowed to vape? According to the Customs and Excise Department, ASPs include electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products and herbal cigarettes. It also covers components, accessories, and any substances or tobacco packaged for use with an ASP device. Advertisement From April 30 next year, possessing materials used for smoking ASPs such as e-cigarette cartridges, tobacco sticks for heated tobacco or herbal cigarettes in public will be illegal. Smoking ASPs will also be deemed as possessing such products.
