A spokesman for the Customs and Excise Department today (April 8) warned the public that it is an offence to bring into Hong Kong infringing copies of optical discs for trade or commercial purposes.
The spokesman pointed out that Customs officers arrested three men, aged 43 to 58, at Lo Wu Control Point this (April 8) afternoon and seized a total of 3,879 pirated DVDs, worth about $98,500.
Between 1.45pm and 3pm, the officers intercepted three male passengers returning from Shenzhen. After a search, the officers seized the pirated DVDs from the passengers' luggage.
Under the Copyright Ordinance, any person found in possession of pirated articles for trade or commercial purposes is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 per article and four years' imprisonment.
The spokesman stressed that Customs would continue rigorous checks at boundary control points to curb all kinds of smuggling activities.
He appealed to members of the public to be patient when going through Customs checks at the boundary as the officers had to check against the illegal importation and exportation of prohibited goods.
Ends/Thursday, April 8, 2004