Author Archives: hksar gov

     â€‹A pharmacy and its sales personnel were fined $50,000 and $22,000 respectively today (May 24) by the Fanling Magistrates’ Courts after being convicted of possessing and selling COVID-19 oral drugs with false descriptions of composition, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO) and the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance.

     Hong Kong Customs earlier received four cases referred by the Department of Health regarding suspected supply of COVID-19 oral drugs with false claims of composition. After investigation, enforcement actions were taken in June 2023 and a number of persons involved in the cases, including pharmacy staff, were arrested across different districts in Hong Kong. 

     The persons and the pharmacy involved in three of the cases had been found guilty at the Kwun Tong, Eastern, and Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts for violating the above two Ordinances. They were sentenced to a fine from $3,000 to $7,000, a community service order for 160 hours, and imprisonment for seven weeks to five months, for each offence respectively.

     Customs welcomes the sentences for the above four cases. They have imposed a deterrent effect and reflect the seriousness of the offences. A clear warning has also been delivered to unscrupulous practitioners.

     Customs will continue to take stringent law enforcement action and maintain close contact with relevant government departments and organisations, as well as monitoring the market situation regularly, with a view to combating false trade descriptions activities.

     Customs reminds traders that selling medicine with false trade descriptions applied is a serious crime and offenders face criminal liability. Consumers are also reminded to purchase goods at reputable shops and to check with the professionals if the authenticity of a product is in doubt.

     Under the TDO, any person who sells or possesses for sale any goods with false trade descriptions applied commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

     Under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, any person who sells or possesses any poison included in Part 1 of the Poisons List or unregistered pharmaceutical products other than in accordance with provisions commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for two 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) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002). read more

     The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a series of territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations and joint operations with the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed “Champion” and “Windsand” for four consecutive days from May 20 to yesterday (May 23). A total of eight suspected illegal workers and one suspected employer were arrested.
 
     During the anti-illegal worker operations, ImmD Task Force officers raided 165 target locations including massage parlours, premises under renovation and restaurants. Seven suspected illegal workers and one suspected employer were arrested. The arrested suspected illegal workers comprised four men and three women, aged 31 to 52. One woman, aged 47, who was suspected of employing the illegal workers, was arrested.
 
     During operation “Champion”, enforcement officers raided 15 target locations in Central district. One female suspected illegal worker, aged 62, was arrested.
     
     An ImmD spokesman said, “Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him or her shall be guilty of an offence. Also, visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years’ imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties.”
 
     The spokesman warned, “As stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land is prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years’ imprisonment.”
 
     The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. Under the Immigration Ordinance, the maximum penalty for an employer employing a person who is not lawfully employable, i.e. an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land, has been significantly increased from a fine of $350,000 and three years’ imprisonment to a fine of $500,000 and 10 years’ imprisonment to reflect the gravity of such offences. The director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, of the company concerned may also bear criminal liability. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.
 
     According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee’s identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker’s valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $150,000 and to imprisonment for one year. In that connection, the spokesman would like to remind all employers not to defy the law by employing illegal workers. The ImmD will continue to take resolute enforcement action to combat such offences.
 
     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct an initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the ImmD officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threats and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter or temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments immediately.

  

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (May 24) reported the latest number of dengue fever (DF) cases, and urged the public to maintain strict environmental hygiene, mosquito control and personal pr… read more

     The Action Committee Against Narcotics (ACAN) noted at its meeting today (May 24) the figures of the Central Registry of Drug Abuse (CRDA) and other drug-related figures for the first quarter of 2024. The ACAN noticed that the total number of reported drug abusers in the first quarter of 2024 was lower than that of 2023. However, the figures tend to show greater volatilities in the first quarter of a year. The ACAN will closely monitor the situation in the remaining quarters of 2024, and will at the same time continue to carry out its anti-drug work.
 
     Figures from the CRDA revealed that the total number of reported drug abusers in the first quarter of 2024 was 1 666 while that of the same period in 2023 was 1 863. The number of reported young drug abusers aged under 21 in the first quarter of 2024 was 259. The most common type of drugs abused in the first quarter of 2024 was heroin, followed by cocaine and cannabis. Whereas among young drug abusers aged under 21, the three most common types of drugs abused were cannabis, cocaine and ketamine (commonly known as “K”).
 
     According to the figures from law enforcement agencies, the number of persons arrested for drug offences in the first quarter of 2024 was 767, with 62 of them being young drug abusers aged under 21. According to the court cases concluded for the same period, the conviction rate of persons being prosecuted for drug offences was as high as close to 90 per cent. As for young offenders aged under 21 who were sentenced to imprisonment for drug trafficking, more than half of them were sentenced to over five years in prison, and the longest period of imprisonment was nearly 22 years.
 
     The ACAN expressed grave concern about the situation of cannabis abuse. In particular, cannabis was the most common type of drugs abused by reported young drug abusers aged under 21 in the first quarter of 2024, with over half (51 per cent) of them taking this drug. The ACAN Chairman, Dr Donald Li, said, “Some youngsters consider taking cannabis trendy or a so-called ‘chill’ lifestyle, and even think that the legalisation of cannabis is a world trend. Such thinking has ignored the medical evidence that smoking cannabis is harmful to health. Cannabis is addictive. Staying away from cannabis is the true ‘chill’ lifestyle.” To raise public awareness of the harms of cannabis, especially awareness among young people, the Narcotics Division (ND) of the Security Bureau (SB) will launch a new TV Announcement in the Public Interest (API) and the corresponding radio API to disseminate the message that “Cannabis is a drug” in 2024. The website of the ND (www.nd.gov.hk/en/index.html) contains correct information and frequently asked questions about cannabis.
 
     The ACAN continues to express concern about the abuse of cocaine, and supports the Government to keep up its targeted measures. The ND launched a TV and the corresponding radio API in early 2024, describing cocaine abuse as sinking deep into a quagmire. Moreover, the ND has produced an animated video, which is about how a young person had been controlled by his “inner demons” and paid a heavy price for one wrong decision: trying cocaine. Both videos have been uploaded onto the ND’s website (www.nd.gov.hk/en/cocaine_info.html) and its social media accounts (the ND’s YouTube channel, Facebook page and Instagram account of “narcotics.divisionhk”)
     
     Apart from cannabis and cocaine, the ACAN noticed the number of drug trafficking cases involving inbound travellers has increased recently. Dr Li said, “The law enforcement agencies have detected numerous drug trafficking cases involving baggage concealment by air passengers recently. As the summer holiday is approaching, the ACAN will fully support the Government to take law enforcement actions against drug trafficking activities before and during the summer holiday. Cannabidiol, which is known as CBD, has been listed as a dangerous drug. Members of the public should pay careful attention to product labels when travelling during the summer holiday, and should not risk to try cannabis and CBD products, or bring them back to Hong Kong, to avoid breaching the law.” The ND also mentioned that since travelling has resumed normal, drug dealers often post recruitment advertisements on dubious websites and social media accounts with offers of free trips and high remuneration to lure members of the public into drug trafficking. The ND will step up publicity and education to remind the public to stay vigilant and not to fall into drug traps driven by greed. Drug trafficking is a serious offence, and offenders upon conviction are liable to a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of $5 million in Hong Kong, or may even be sentenced to death in other places.
 
     As regards the challenges posed by emerging new drugs, the Government will continue to stay vigilant in closely monitoring drug trends in and outside Hong Kong, and will take appropriate follow-up actions to safeguard public health. As the summer holiday is approaching, members of the public may be attracted by the novelty of products that contain drugs when travelling to other places. The ND would like to remind the public to say no to drugs at all times, and should never try drugs out of curiosity, even if they are offered for free. When coming across oil and relevant products for heat-not-burn cigarettes or electronic cigarettes, members of the public are urged to pay careful attention if these products contain cannabis, CBD, emerging new drugs, and other harmful substances or poison, and should not try them or bring them back to Hong Kong. The public should not smoke any products.
 
     Members of the public can send messages to professional social workers at 98 186 186 through instant messaging applications WhatsApp and WeChat when they have any doubts about drugs or when they want to seek help. They can also call the 24-hour hotline 186 186. This service is provided by a non-governmental organisation commissioned by the ND.
 
     The figures of the CRDA for the first quarter of 2024 are also available on the website of the ND (www.nd.gov.hk/en/crda_main_charts_and_tables.html). read more

     The Government announced today (May 24) that the actual supply of private housing land in 2023-24 has a capacity to produce around 15 410 flats in total, higher than the estimation of around 14 000 flats in February this year when a… read more