HONG KONG, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) launched an operation codenamed "Aegis" Friday to enhance consumer protection for tourists during the National Day Golden Week period, it said here Friday.
Deputy Head of the Trade Descriptions Investigation Bureau of C&ED Wong Hing-man said during the operation, the department would step up patrols at shopping spots for tour groups, ginseng and dried seafood shops and medicine shops in tourist shopping areas such as Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, and Causeway Bay.
The C&ED will also remind retail shops and workers of the tourist industry to abide by the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO), he said.
According to the TDO, any trader who adopts unfair trade practices, including making false trade descriptions in relation to goods, misleading omission, aggressive commercial practices and bait-and-switch, commits an offence.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of 500,000 HK dollars (about 64,270 U.S. dollars) and imprisonment for five years.
