A retailer has been fined HK$54,000 (US$6960) at Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts for possessing for sale and supplying backpacks and bags with false trade descriptions.
Acting on information, Hong Kong Customs conducted a test-buy operation at a retail outlet. An investigation of the purchased backpack, claimed to be of a particular brand, showed it was not authorised to be manufactured and supplied, and neither were the 160 backpacks and bags subsequently seized from the retailer.
The retailer supplied the products with false trade descriptions to mislead customers into believing they were products of a particular brand. This contravenes the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).
Under the TDO, any person who supplies goods with a false trade description in the course of trade or business, or is in possession of any goods for sale with a false trade description, commits an offence.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of HK$500,000 and imprisonment for five years.