Arrest is city’s first of its kind relating to alleged forced shopping
CLIFFORD LO
CLIFFORD.LO@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 05 November, 2015, 1:43pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 05 November, 2015, 2:14pm
A suspect taken back to the scene of the dispute last month. Photo: Felix Wong
A sales supervisor of a Hong Kong jewellery shop where a mainland tourist was allegedly beaten before he died in hospital last month was arrested by customs officers today in connection with an alleged case of forced shopping.
It is the first arrest of its kind relating to alleged forced shopping in a registered shop after the city’s trade descriptions law expanded in scope in 2013 to include services, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
At least three others – a mainland tour leader, a local tour guide and another shop employee – were being sought by customs officers in connection with the case, according to the source.
The arrest of the Hong Kong woman, 59, was made when about 30 officers from customs’ unfair trade practice investigation unit raided the D2 jewellery shop in Hung Hom this morning.
The Customs and Excise Department launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from a mainland female tourist who claimed she was forced to make a purchase in the shop on October 3 and filed a complaint to the Travel Industry Council.
“The victim claimed that she did not want to make any purchases but she was allegedly subjected to the influence of harassment and coercion to spend more than HK$2,000 to buy an ornament,” said Hui Wai-ming who headed a squad of 55 investigating unfair trade practices.
He said the use of harassment, coercion or undue influence to impair a consumer’s freedom of choice or conduct contravened the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a HK$500,000 fine.
READ MORE: Beaten Chinese tourist at Kowloon jeweller's may have died from heart attack, say sources
As of mid-day, the female supervisor was being held for questioning and had not been charged.
Another mainland tourist, Miao Chunqi, 54, died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei on Tuesday, a day after he was left unconscious in an alleged attack by four men at the D2 jewellery shop in Hung Hom on October 19.
He and a female colleague were part of a mainland tour group that had arrived in the city for a three-day trip on October 18.
Miao’s death prompted emotional calls from his family for an explanation and sparked fresh concern in the city’s tourism industry about “forced shopping”, in which members of mainland tour groups on cheap deals were expected to spend money at selected shops.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1875905/police-arrest-hong-kong-sales-superviser-shop-where
