Hong Kong Customs today (December 23) arrested a male proprietor of a private detective agency who had made false claims in the sale of its people tracing service, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).
Customs earlier received information alleging that a private detective agency in Tsim Sha Tsui failed to provide the relevant people tracing service after charging a customer a few thousand dollars' service fee, and did not refund the customer as claimed.
After investigation, Customs officers today arrested a 37-year-old man suspected to be connected to the case.
An investigation is ongoing and the arrested man has been released on bail pending further investigation.
Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to procure services at reputable shops.
Under the TDO, any trader who applies a false trade description to a service supplied to a consumer commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
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