2 inbound travelers founded guilty and imprisoned for ownership of duty-not-paid cigarettes (with images)
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2 inbound female guests were respectively sentenced to 6 weeks’ jail time and 2 months’ jail time, and fined $4,000 and $5,000 by the Fanling Magistrates’ Courts today (November 5) for having duty-not-paid cigarettes and stopping working to state them to Customs officers, in conflict of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).
Customs officers obstructed 2 inbound female travelers, aged 31 and 30, at the Lo Wu Control Point on October 10. Customs officer took 8 400 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an approximated market price of about $34,000 and a task capacity of about $28,000, from the 31-year-old inbound female guest’s individual luggage and child stroller. About 8 400 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an approximated market price of about $34,000 and a task capacity of about $28,000, were taken from the 30-year-old inbound female traveler’s individual luggage. They were consequently jailed. The 31-year-old female traveler was sentenced to 6 weeks’ jail time and fined $4,000, while the 30-year-old female traveler was sentenced to 2 months’ jail time and fined $5,000, by the court today for contravening the DCO.
Custom-mades invites the sentence. The custodial sentence enforces a substantial deterrent impact and shows the severity of the offenses.
Customizeds advises members of the general public that under the DCO, tobacco items are dutiable products to which the DCO uses. Anybody who imports, handle, has, offers or purchases illegal cigarettes dedicates an offense. The optimum charge upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and jail time for 7 years.
Members of the general public might report any thought illegal cigarette activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its devoted crime-reporting e-mail account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online kind (eform.cefs.gov.hk/ form/ced002/en/).