Hong Kong Customs combats unfair trade practices at medicine shop
Hong Kong Customs today (September 7) arrested a salesman of a medicine shop suspected to have engaged in unfair trade practices involving a misleading omission in the course of selling Chinese medicines, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).
Customs earlier received information alleging that a salesperson of a medicine shop in Tsim Sha Tsui was suspected of misleading a customer to believe the unit price of a Chinese medicine was calculated per catty. It was only after the Chinese medicine was ground into powder that the salesperson revealed the medicine was priced per tael.
After an in-depth investigation, Customs officers today arrested a 35-year-old salesman of the medicine shop concerned.
An investigation is ongoing and the arrested man was held for questioning.
Customs has all along 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 complaints will be promptly referred to investigators to handle with priority.
With the National Day Golden Week approaching, Customs will continue to step up inspection and enforcement to vigorously combat unfair trade practices.
Customs reminded traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to purchase products from reputable shops. Consumers should also be cautious about the unit price and ask for more information, including the total price of the goods selected, before making a purchase decision.
Under the TDO, any person who engages in a commercial practice that omits or hides material information or provides material information in a manner that is unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely, and as a result causes, or is likely to cause, an average consumer to make a transactional decision, commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Parents reminded to submit application form for admission to Primary One
The Education Bureau (EDB) today (September 16) reminded parents who wish to apply for a Primary One (P1) place for their child in any government or aided school in September 2025 to submit their applications for discretionary places under the Primary One Admission (POA) System via the POA e-platform (ePOA) starting from this Thursday (September 19), or in paper form starting from next Monday (September 23).
Submission of applications for discretionary places
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An EDB spokesman said, "Parents intending to apply for a P1 place of a particular government or aided primary school for their child at the Discretionary Places Admission stage under the POA System via ePOA should first register as ePOA (epoa.edb.gov.hk) users and bind their account to "iAM Smart+", and submit their applications via ePOA between September 19 and 27. For details, please refer to the Parent's Guides on the EDB website (www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/spa-systems/primary-1-admission/poa_eplatform/index.html). If parents choose to submit paper application forms, they should submit the completed application form together with all supporting documents directly to the school during school office hours between September 23 and 27. Parents who are unable to submit the application form in person may authorise in writing a representative to bring along the above-mentioned documents to the school on their behalf."
"Irrespective of whether the application is submitted via ePOA or in paper form, parents should submit only one application for their child. If parents have applied to more than one government or aided primary school, their application for a POA discretionary place would be rendered void. In addition, parents should not submit duplicate applications via ePOA and in paper form for the same child," the spokesman added.
The spokesman reminded parents that schools would process the applications in accordance with the established procedures and criteria at the Discretionary Places Admission stage. As such, there is no need for parents to prepare portfolios for their child.
In addition, children who have accepted the offer of P1 places in Direct Subsidy Scheme primary schools would not be allocated P1 places in government or aided primary schools through the POA System.
Application for Central Allocation only
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If parents are applying only for the POA Central Allocation for their child, they should submit the application to the EDB via ePOA or in paper form on or before January 17, 2025. For submission in paper form, they should return the completed application form and supporting documents to the School Places Allocation Section (Primary One Admission) of the EDB at Podium Floor, West Block, Education Bureau Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong.
Residential address
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"When completing the POA Application Form, parents should fill in the actual residential address of their child. If a false address is given by parents to secure a P1 place for their child under the POA System, the application would be rendered void and the P1 place allocated would be withdrawn. If a false instrument has been used or a false statutory declaration has been made in the application, the offender is liable on conviction to imprisonment for 14 years or imprisonment for two years and to a fine respectively under the Crimes Ordinance. Suspected cases of using a false address for POA applications may be reported to the School Places Allocation Section by calling its hotline at 2832 7700," the EDB spokesman emphasised.
Source: AI-generated images
