72,000 trade complaints, just 700 prosecutions

Just 700 prosecutions have been made from some 72,000 Trade Descriptions Ordinance-related complaints received by Customs and Excise Department over the past 10 years, lawmakers heard yesterday.

About 35,000 complaints were grouped into 2,322 cases and investigation into 2,257 of them has been completed, said Commerce and Economic Development undersecretary Bernard Chan Pak-li.

Half of the total complaints were not followed up due to lack of evidence, Chan told the a meeting of the legislature's panel on economic development.

Chan said actions taken by the bureau included warning letters for shops and sales staff in 319 cases and in 15 cases, the shops had made a written promise to stop the disputable trade practices.

Of the 700 prosecutions mounted, over 90 percent led to conviction, Chan added.

Among the 660 convictions, 88 people were jailed for up to 27 months. The court also handed fines ranging from HK$500 to HK$152,000 in 502 cases.

False trade descriptions constituted the major complaints, accounting for over 52,600, or 73 percent, of the total figure.

Other complaints included misleading omissions, aggressive commercial practices, bait advertising, bait-and-switch, and wrongly accepting payment.

Under the law, anyone selling goods with a false trade description or possessing goods for sale with a false trade description faces up to five years in jail and HK$500,000 in fine.

In 2021, a 47-year-old female restaurant owner in Tai Po was arrested after her restaurant's "abalone and ham" macaroni and omelet was found to have contained squid but no abalone.

"The Consumer Council receives on average 30,000 cases every year, and 60 percent of them were settled after the council mediated the disputes," Chan said.

Wholesale and retail sector lawmaker Peter Shiu Ka-fai voiced concerns over "unfair" trade practices committed against mainland tourists, referring to a mainland woman's post on social media Xiaohungshu that she was billed HK$110,000 by a Causeway Bay pharmacy.

Shiu called for more anti-scam information to be given to mainland tourists.

Chan pledged customs would step up enforcement at tourist spots.

Customs and Excise assistant commissioner (Intelligence and Investigation) Mark Woo Wai-kwan said customs has been communicating with its mainland counterparts and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, telling them that mainlanders may call its hotlines to make a complaint.

Customs' Quick Response Team would dispatch officers to the shops upon receiving complaints, he added.

Chan admitted that the prosecution rate was too low regarding complaints about online shopping after Liberal Party lawmaker Frankie Yick Chi-ming questioned why only five prosecutions were made and five convicted among a total of 1,824 complaints last year.

Chan explained that prosecution could be made only after the authorities had gathered enough evidence.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com