Seven arrested for 'intentionally' misquoting prices at dried goods stalls
Abalone saleswomen accused of tricking customers into thinking they were about to get a bargain … then charging up to 10 times more
Customs has arrested seven women for misleading customers into buying dried abalone and ginseng using "unscrupulous" pricing tactics - an offence under the new trade law.
They mark the first arrests under the amended Trade Descriptions Ordinance, which came into force on July 19.
Officers also confiscated HK$230,000 worth of abalone and ginseng from the three mobile stalls in Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei where the women worked.
Misquoted transactions were found to range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. At times, the bill was 10 times more than customers had expected, the Customs and Excise Department said.
The vendors duped customers into believing the goods were priced in catties (604g) instead of taels (50g), said Diana Yau Fung-mei, deputy head of the consumer protection bureau.
"These [saleswomen] had the intention of misleading customers," Yau said. "Price labels were hidden or displayed in a very unclear manner and the storekeepers did not provide accurate price information to customers. They also paid no regard to the customers' inquiries as to how much a catty of the goods cost."