XN000022-1985-07-30 — Page 9

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TUESDAY, JULY 30, 1985

MEANWHILE, THE DEPARTMENT'S ANTI-LITTER PATROLS SERVED 35 SUMMONSES ON LITTERBUGS AT SEVERAL BEACHES, INCLUDING STANLEY MAIN, REPULSE BAY, DEEP WATER AND SHEX O BEACHES.

+THE LARGE AMOUNT OF RUBBISH COLLECTED AND THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SUMMONSES DOES NOT MEAN THAT OUR BEACHES ARE DIRTIER,+ SAID A SPOKESMAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT.

+IN FACT, ALL OUR BEACHES ON HONG KONG ISLAND ARE NOW TAKING ON A MUCH CLEANER LOOK AS A RESULT OF THE HARD WORK OF OUR BEACH CLEANSING STAFF, PARTICULARLY OVER THE WEEKENDS AND DURING PUBLIC HOLIDAYS.+

HE STRESSED THAT ANTI-LITTER AND ANTI-NOISE PATROLS WOULD BE STRENGTHENED DURING WEEKENDS AND ON PUBLIC HOLIDAYS THROUGHOUT THE SWIMMING SEASON TO ENSURE THE BEACHES ARE KEPT CLEAN AND RELATIVELY QUIET.

SHARP RISE IN NUMBER OF TRADING PROSECUTIONS

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THE TRADING STANDARDS INVESTIGATION BUREAU OF THE CUSTOMS AND EXCISE DEPARTMENT HANDLED 673 PROSECUTIONS IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR, AN INCREASE OF 55 PER CENT OVER THE SAME PERIOD IN 1984.

OF THESE, 133 WERE COMPANIES AND 540 WERE INDIVIDUALS. COMPARED ON THE SAME BASIS, TOTAL FINES IMPOSED FOR THE PERIOD INCREASED FROM $2.6 MILLION TO $4.3 MILLION.

TEN OF THE DEFENDANTS, PROSECUTED UNDER THE TRADE DESCRIPTIONS ORDINANCE, WERE GIVEN SENTENCES RANGING FROM ONE MONTH TO 18 MONTHS IN PRISON. SIX OF THESE WERE HAWKERS CHARGED WITH POSSESSION FOR SALE T-SHIRTS BEARING FALSE TRADE DESCRIPTIONS OR FORGED TRADE MARKS.

OF THE 673 CASES, 402 WERE CONNECTED WITH FALSE TRADE DESCRIPTION OR FORGED TRADE MARK OFFENCES. CASES OF ORIGIN FRAUD CAME NEXT WITH 168, FOLLOWED BY TEXTILES LICENSING 65, IMPORT-EXPORT DECLARATION 29 AND NINE MISCELLANEOUS CASES.

DURING THE PERIOD. THE TOTAL VALUE OF GOODS FORFEITED TO THE CROWN, ALL UNDER THE TRADE DESCRIPTIONS ORDINANCE, WAS APPROXIMATELY $3.8 MILLION.

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