HONG KONG: The move comes despite the rate of prosecutions remaining relatively stable compared with last year. On Friday, the Customs and Excise Department said that between January and October this year, it had received 138 reports of unsafe consumer goods, a slight increase from 133 in the same period last year. The number of reported cases of short-weight malpractices – classified under fraudulent use of weighing equipment and fabrication of product weight – fell 32 per cent from 518 in the first 10 months of last year to 352 in the same period this year.
Out of the 138 reports of unsafe goods, furniture accounted for the biggest group with 35 cases, followed by beauty products and children’s products, with 27 cases each.
The department has prosecuted nine retailers for selling unsafe goods and launched 72 investigations so far this year. It made 14 successful prosecutions over such cases in the whole of last year.
Vegetables sellers were involved in 103 reports of short-weight malpractice, making up the biggest group, followed by seafood sellers, who accounted for 61 reports.
Out of short-weight cases, there were 13 successful prosecutions and 40 investigations launched. Officials made 28 successful prosecutions of this kind in the whole of last year.
Kenny Chan Kwok-kee, head of the consumer protection bureau under the department, said apart from acting on reports and complaints from the public, his team had recently targeted sellers of Christmas goods.
“We have already bought some Christmas toys for testing. We will follow up if they are found to violate safety regulations,” Chan said.
