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Acting on allegations about the selling of suspected counterfeit rice, the Customs today (May 5) conducted an operation at a store house in Fung Kat Heung, Yuen Long. A total of five persons were arrested and over 130 kilogrammes of suspected counterfeit rice with a value of about $2,000 were seized. An investigation is in progress.
Acting on information about the selling of suspected counterfeit rice with free delivery services at a low price as tactics, officers of the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau carried out investigations and raided a store house in Fung Kat Heung, Yuen Long today. Four men and a woman, aged between 26 and 55, including a person-in-charge of the store house and four workers, were arrested. The arrested persons were put on bail pending investigation.
Upon investigation, it was believed that unscrupulous traders used rice bags with forged trademarks to repack genuine rice mixed with rice of inferior quality for supplying to local food premises and also for sale to public housing tenants with an intention to make bigger profits at lower costs.
The Head of Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau of the Customs, Mr Lee Hon-wah, today appealed to the public not to buy goods from mobile peddlers for their own benefit. He also urged members of the public to report to the Customs promptly should there be any suspicious activities.
Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person selling, or in possession for the purpose of selling, goods bearing a forged trademark commits a criminal offence. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for five years and a fine of $500,000.
Anyone who comes across any suspected counterfeiting activities is encouraged to report them to the Customs by calling the 24-hour hotline 2545 6182.
Ends/Monday, May 5, 2014
Issued at HKT 20:32
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