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Illegal sale of marked oil
Following is a question by the Hon Zachary Wong and a written reply the Secretary for the Treasury, Mr K C Kwong, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Regarding the illegal sale of marked oil, will the Government inform this
Council:
(a)
(b)
(c)
of the volume of cases relating to the illegal sale of marked oil, together with the volume of oil seized and the amount of tax involved, in the last three years; and of the penalty generally imposed on the accused;
whether the number of cases has indicated an upward trend, if so, whether it is related to the leniency of sentences passed; and
how the illegal sale of marked oil can be eradicated more effectively; whether the authorities concerned are adequately staffed; if not, whether additional staff will be provided?
Reply:
(a)
The information sought by the Honourable Member is set out in the following two tables -
1992-93
1993-94
1994-95
Misuse of marked oil and detreated oil
Cases detected
268
Seizures (litre)
130,438
Duty Potential ($)
268,826
326 (+22%) 64,576 (-50%) 146,609 (-45%)
461 (+41%) 699,774 (+984%) 1,728,530 (+1079%)
Statistics on Penalties *
1992
1993
1994
Statutory maximum penalty under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap.
109):
use or place marked oil in the fuel tank of a motor vehicle or sell for this purpose: Fine $100,000 and 2 year imprisonment
remove any marker or colouring substance from marked oil:
Fine $5,000 and 6 month imprisonment
Range of penalty Fine:
imposed
Fine:
Fine:
$200 - $20,000 $500 - $12,000
$500 - $10,000
* Statistics based on financial year are not available.