â€‹With the Christmas holiday approaching, Hong Kong Customs has further stepped up enforcement to combat cross-boundary smuggling of illicit cigarette activities before the holiday. A total of about 10 400 suspected duty-not-paid cigars with an estimated market value of about $900,000 and a duty potential of about $160,000 were seized at Lok Ma Chau Control Point between December 12 and 14.

     Customs officers intercepted three incoming cross-boundary lorries at Lok Ma Chau Control Point between December 12 and 14. About 10 400 suspected duty-not-paid cigars were found inside 11 cartons of express postal parcels on board the vehicles. 

     After follow-up investigation, Customs officers today (December 16) arrested a 32-year-old man suspected to be in connection with the case in Fanling and further seized about 30 suspected duty-not-paid cigars in his residence in the district.

     Investigation is ongoing.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years. 

     Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying duty-not-paid tobacco commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years. 

     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit tobacco activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

     Police today (December 16) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Central.

     Wan See-choi William, aged 30, went missing after he was last seen on Connaught Road Central on December 14 night. His family made a report to Police on the same day.

     He is about 1.8 metres tall, 70 kilograms in weight and of medium build. He has a round face with yellow complexion and short black hair.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Hong Kong Island on 2860 1040 or 9886 0034 or email to rmpu-hki@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     In response to media reports that cleansing workers of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD)'s contractors were found not equipped with proper personal protective equipment while cleaning up the streets in Mong Kok after the large-scale public order event last night (December 15), a spokesman for the FEHD said today (December 16) that such reports were unfounded.

     The FEHD spokesman reiterates that the Department attaches great importance to the compliance with the guidelines relating to the provision of proper personal protective equipment.

      

     A licensee and an associate of the licensee of an employment agency (EA) were convicted at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (December 16) of overcharging two foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) and were fined a total of $24,000. The court also ordered the licensee of the EA to refund the excessive placement fee of $6,659 to one of the FDHs concerned.
 
     In May, the Employment Agencies Administration (EAA) of the Labour Department (LD) received complaints from two FDHs against Fernandez Employment Travel Service, located in North Point, about charging them excessive commission. As investigation revealed sufficient evidence that the licensee and an associate of the licensee of the EA concerned had overcharged the FDHs, the LD decided to take out prosecution against them.
 
     According to the law, a licensee or an associate of a licensee in respect of an EA, or a person purporting to act as such a licensee or associate, is not allowed to collect from a job seeker any fees or charges other than the prescribed commission, which is an amount not exceeding 10 per cent of the first month's salary of the job seeker upon successful placement.
 
     The LD reminds EAs to operate in full compliance with the law and the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies at all times. Failure to do so may lead to prosecution and/or revocation of licence. The Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, effective since February 9, 2018, has raised the maximum penalty for overcharging job seekers to a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.
 
     For enquiries or complaints about unlicensed operation or overcharging by EAs, please call the EAA of the LD at 2115 3667, or visit its office at Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital made the following announcement today (December 16):
 
     Three female patients (aged 82 to 84) in a mixed medical ward have been confirmed to be carriers of Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae without symptoms since December 11. The patients are being treated under isolation. One patient is in serious condition due to an underlying illness while the other two patients are in stable condition.
 
     Infection control measures in the ward have been intensified according to established guidelines. All other patients in the ward concerned are under close surveillance.
 
     The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up.