Hong Kong steps up enforcement ahead of ‘golden week’ holiday, with 3 arrested for alleged illegal sale of drugs and Chinese herbal medicine
- Police and Department of Health mount joint operation in Yau Tsim Mong district, arresting trio, aged between 29 and 33, for alleged illegal sale of medicinal products
- Customs to distribute pamphlets at cross-boundary control points, educating visitors about making informed choices before making purchases
Police and the Department of Health mounted a joint operation in Yau Tsim Mong district on Monday, which led to the arrests of the three, aged between 29 and 33, for allegedly selling and possessing medicinal products without a licence.
During raids on two retail shops in Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok, nine unregistered pharmaceutical products, poisons and Chinese herbal medicines were also seized.
The customs department, meanwhile, will distribute pamphlets at cross-boundary control points, educating visitors about making informed choices before making purchases.
Shoppers are advised to understand a product’s specifications and make comparisons before the purchase, as well as to check the unit price of the goods and total cost carefully before payment.
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The department added on Tuesday that officers had enhanced patrols in shopping districts and would promote fair business conduct among retailers.
The stepped-up monitoring covers businesses in Yau Tsim Mong and Causeway Bay and includes shops selling dried seafood and ginseng, medicine and jewellery.
“Customs has long been concerned about visitors being misled to make purchases by unfair trade practices and has established a quick response team to handle urgent complaints lodged by short-haul visitors,” the department said. “The complaints will be promptly referred to investigators to handle with priority.”
A series of promotional videos were also uploaded on customs’ mainland Chinese social platforms, including WeChat and Douyin, to share information about common unfair trade practices while reminding tourists to stay vigilant when shopping.
Authorities earlier predicted that 5.9 million people were expected to use border checkpoints over the holiday with the city gearing up for at least 800,000 mainland visitors.
A shopping festival organised by the Yau Tsim Mong District Office and council will feature deals offered by 2,200 businesses across malls, hotels and restaurants in Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok.
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Commissioner of Customs and Excise Louise Ho Pui-shan on Tuesday inspected operations of the Lo Wu and the Express Rail Link West Kowloon control points.
She said that her department would flexibly deploy manpower to ensure smooth operations at each control point. The department would also closely liaise with the mainland and Macau Customs to share the latest real-time situation of each control point.
A 10-minute fireworks display over Victoria Harbour will kick off golden week at 8pm on May 1.
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Police on Tuesday announced road closures in Tsim Sha Tsui East, Central, Wan Chai, and Eastern district, which would take effect from Wednesday evening.
In Tsim Sha Tsui, areas near Salisbury Road and Mody Road will be closed to traffic from 6pm.
In Central, Man Kwong Street outside Central Pier No 7 and 8 will close at 7.30pm, followed by the shutdown of eastbound Lung Wo Road between Yiu Sing Street and Lung Hop Street before 8.30pm.
Expo Drive in Wan Chai, a few streets nearby including March Road, part of Fleming Road and Lung Wo Road will be affected as well.
Watson Road, Glass Street, King Ming Road and parts of Hing Fat Street will also be closed from 7.30pm onwards.
