Hong Kong Customs on April 1 arrested a company representative and a consultant of an auction house suspected of having applied false trade descriptions to auctioned coins and supplying coins with false trade descriptions, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).
Customs earlier received information alleging that 31 antique coins sold at auction by an auction house were suspected to be counterfeit coins. After investigation by Customs and confirmation by a coin authentication company, those coins were not antique coins as declared by the auction house.
Customs officers then conducted an operation on April 1 and arrested a 26-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man. They are the company representative and the consultant of the auction house concerned.
Investigation is ongoing and the arrested persons have been released on bail pending further investigation.
Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to purchase products at reputable shops.
Under the TDO, any person who applies a false trade description to goods or supplies goods with a false trade description in the course of trade or business 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 violation of the TDO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
Ends/Monday, April 4, 2022