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Traders who supply goods by weight, measure or number short of the quantity purporting to be supplied commits an offence, a spokesman for the Customs and Excise Department said today (April 1).
He said Customs officers would step up enforcement action to crack down on such malpractice in the trade, including retail and distribution levels, to protect consumers' interests, and to ensure that Hong Kong maintained fair trade.
Under the Weights and Measures Ordinance, the maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of $10,000.
The Customs reminder came after the suppliers of six vegetable stalls were fined ranging from $600 to $3,000 by the magistrate of the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts yesterday (March 31). They pleaded guilty to the offence of supplying vegetables short of the quantity purporting to be supplied.
The goods involved were various vegetables namely cabbage, taro, cucumber and Chinese kale with the market value ranging from $44 to $110 per basket.
The court heard that officers of the Customs and Excise Department test-purchased the above vegetables at Cheung Sha Wan Vegetable Wholesale Market on September 15, 2005. After the transactions, the customs officers revealed their identities and checked the purchased goods with their electronic balance. They found that the actual weight of the vegetables supplied by six vegetable stalls was less than their purported weight. On the same day, the officers delivered the vegetables to the Government Laboratory for examination. Results of the examination confirmed that the weight of the vegetables was less than the quantity purporting to be supplied, ranging from 3.6% to 16.03% less.
Last year, there were 27 prosecution cases relating to shortweighting and defective weighing equipment involving fines totalling $72,700 fine. In the first two months this year, there were 10 such cases involving fines totalling $16,200.
Ends/Saturday, April 1, 2006
Issued at HKT 11:42
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