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SCMP Reporter

Shop in Hung Hom charged HK$1,000 for products that cost just HK$40

The director of a Hung Hom jewellery shop visited by mainland tourists admitted yesterday his company had falsely labelled Guangdong-made goods as Italian and priced them at 25 times the actual cost.

This meant an item priced at HK$1,000 actually cost HK$40.

Wan Chi-nang, 31, and Silver Jubilee International  were charged after a raid triggered by an investigative report by China Central Television that followed numerous complaints from mainland tourists about the quality of goods they had bought in Hong Kong.

Wan and the company pleaded guilty in Kowloon City Court to four charges of importing and possessing goods for sale with a false trading description. Silver Jubilee faced an additional count of failing to display the required notice under the Trade Description Ordinance.

Principal magistrate Ernest Lin Kam-hung adjourned sentencing to May 31 pending reports on Wan  and on whether a community service sentence was appropriate.

The court heard that Wan was responsible for the shop's daily operations, trading under the name Diamond Industrial International, in Sunshine Plaza in Sung On Street.

In a raid on April 6 Customs officers seized 1,807 pieces of gold-plated jewellery, engraved with the word 'Italy', with a total sales price of HK$1.3 million.

Wan had told the manufacturer in Guangdong to engrave the pieces because it would make customers feel they were 'relatively high-end' Italian goods and make them easier to sell.

The businessman and his company are liable to a maximum fine of HK$100,000 and two years in jail on each of the offences if convicted.

Defence barrister Lisa Remedios asked the court not to pass a deterrent prison term because there was no suggestion such crimes were common. She asked the court not to be influenced by media reports because they gave no official figures on the number of these crimes.

But the magistrate said the court could not totally ignore the media, which lately had carried stories about dishonest businessmen in Hong Kong arranging to sell fake goods to mainland travellers.

Ms Remedios said the shop, which opened last year, was only a small trader. It had now closed, with more than 30 staff being laid off.

She said only 2.9 per cent of the shop's stock  was in question and she submitted transaction receipts to support claims that the falsely labelled items were sold at 20 to 30 per cent of the listed price.

Wan had co-operated with the authorities and his confession had made prosecution easier  because he provided all the details when he was arrested, she said.

The court heard that the stock seized included 880 pendants, 340 necklaces, 117 bracelets, 444 rings, 24 pairs of earrings and two brooches.

Wan had ordered the jewellery from a mainland manufacturer in the 12 months since April last year. The finished products were delivered to Hong Kong by two-way permit holders in hand-held luggage. Wan paid in yuan at the mainland factory.



Jeweller admits selling fake Italian goods