Coronavirus: Hong Kong customs arrests second core member of Demosisto party over sale of ‘Not made in China’ masks
- Party’s vice-chairman Isaac Cheng arrested on Monday for alleged violations of trade description laws
- Customs statement dismisses suggestions that operation was politically motivated
Hong Kong customs have arrested a second core member of the localist party Demosisto for alleged violations of trade description laws over the sale of “Not made in China” masks, while refuting allegations the operation was “political repression”.
The party’s vice-chairman Isaac Cheng Ka-long, 20, who customs regarded as the “director of the online trader” of the masks, was arrested on Monday. He was later released on bail.
“The trader involved had all along been failing to provide authentication after repeated demands during the customs investigation to prove the masks supplied comply with the labelled claims. Arrests were made accordingly for suspected violation of the TDO,” the Customs and Excise Department said in a statement.
Among words on the packaging were “Not made in China” and product performance standards such as “ASTM Level 1” and “fluid resistance”.