An incoming passenger was sentenced to a total of six months’ imprisonment with a fine of $6,000 by the Fanling Magistrates’ Courts today (April 13) 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 the incoming 52-year-old female passenger at the Lo Wu Control Point on March 9 and seized 981 duty-not-paid cigarettes from her, with an estimated market value of about $4,000 and a duty potential of about $3,200. She was subsequently arrested and granted bail pending her court appearance.
      
     Customs officers yesterday (April 12) seized a total of 5 381 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $22,000 and a duty potential of about $17,700, from the same female passenger and her personal baggage at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point. She was arrested again.
      
     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).

　　Hosted by the World Internet Conference (WIC), organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and co-organised by the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, the 2026 WIC Asia‑Pacific Summit officially began today (April 13) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Building on its successful debut last year, Hong Kong is once again organising this international Internet flagship event, further reinforcing the city’s role as an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre. Themed “Digital and Intelligent Empowerment for Innovative Development – Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace”, the two-day Summit is expected to gather around 1 000 government and business leaders, representatives of international organisations, experts and scholars from over 50 countries and regions to jointly deepen regional digital collaboration, and create new momentum and advantages towards the development of the Asia-Pacific region.

     The WIC once again has designated Hong Kong to host the Asia-Pacific Summit, affirming Hong Kong’s pivotal role as an important bridge and two-way platform connecting the country and the world. At the opening ceremony this morning, the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, and the Director of the Cyberspace Administration of China and the Chairman of the WIC, Mr Zhuang Rongwen, delivered their remarks respectively. Distinguished speakers including the Minister of Investment, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic, Mr Samuel Migal’; the Chief Executive Officer of GSMA Ltd, Mr John Hoffman; and the Chairman of the International AI Governance Association, Mr John Higgins, were invited to share their insights.

     After the opening ceremony, the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, and the Secretary-General of the WIC, Mr Ren Xianliang, cohosted the Government-Enterprise Dialogue, engaging in a comprehensive exchange on government-enterprise collaboration to empower business development. The Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Daniel Cheung, also attended and delivered a speech.

     The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, and Professor Sun delivered their remarks at the Main Forum and Distinguished Contributors Gala in the afternoon, outlining Hong Kong’s advantages for digital economy and I&T development. The newly introduced Gala featured international I&T dignitaries, including the Chairman of ZTE Corporation, Ms Fang Rong; the Chairman of Ant Misuan, Mr Wei Tao; Founder, Chairman, and General Manager of MetaX, Mr Chen Weiliang; and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BrainCo from Hangzhou’s “Six Little Dragons”, Mr Han Bicheng, to share their outstanding contributions to spearheading global Internet development. A Hong Kong Dialogue was also staged to feature emerging technology enterprises to engage in an extensive exchange on frontier I&T trends, jointly envisioning the future directions and opportunities for I&T developments.

     A first-ever ministerial meeting was convened and co-hosted by Professor Sun and Mr Ren, providing a premier platform for ministerial officials and representatives of international organisations from across the globe to facilitate high-level exchanges and dialogue. I&T ministers from Samoa, Madagascar, Turkmenistan, Burundi and others conducted rigorous discussions on topics such as how AI promotes high-quality economic growth.

     The Summit will feature six sub-forums tomorrow (April 14), with each focusing on the latest developments of “Innovation and Application of AI Agents”, “Digital Finance”, “AI Security and Governance”, “AI for a Better Life”, “Digital and Intelligent Health”, and “Digital Transformation and Dissemination of Classical Texts”. Mr Cheung will deliver a speech at the AI Security and Governance forum. The Summit will also be complemented by a series of affiliated activities, including capacity-building events to be hosted by the WIC Digital Academy and a new technology exhibition zone. Details of the Summit are available on the event website (www.wicinternet.org/2026-04/07/c_1173500.htm).
 
     Alongside the Summit, Hong Kong’s annual I&T mega event, the Business of Innovation and Technology Week (BIT Week), is taking place concurrently in April. The InnoEX, themed “Innovate • Automate • Elevate” this year, brings together I&T enterprises, industry elites and buyers from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and overseas to jointly promote the application of cutting-edge technology solutions in five key areas, namely AI+, robotics, the low-altitude economy, property technology and retail technology, while exploring global collaboration opportunities. The series of exciting I&T activities elevates Hong Kong’s I&T atmosphere to new heights and accelerates the city’s development into an international I&T centre.