10 weeks' jail for salesman who misled client into paying HK$10,000 for fish maw
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 30 May, 2015, 8:21am
UPDATED : Saturday, 30 May, 2015, 8:21am
Chris Lau [email protected]
Yan Hin Bird's Nest Medicine on Pennington Street. Photo: Dickson Lee
A salesman at a Causeway Bay dried seafood store was sentenced yesterday to 10 weeks in jail for deliberately misleading a customer with incorrect measurement units in November, causing her to pay more than eight times what she expected to.
Wong Fung-yik's ambiguous sales acts deluded the customer into thinking she was getting two catties of dried fish maw for HK$1,160, when in fact the unit price displayed was for one tael, Eastern Court heard earlier. One catty (600 grams) contains 16 taels.
The deception drew harsh words from magistrate Lee Siu-ho. "This has not only hurt consumers' confidence and undermined their rights, but also dented the reputation of Hong Kong," he said. "The court has to send a clear message to the public, as well as to all other sectors, that it does not tolerate" this practice.
Wong, 57, was granted bail pending his application for an appeal.
He previously denied two counts of engaging in a commercial practice that involved a misleading omission - an offence under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance.
On November 14, Wong was evasive when the customer approached the shop, Yan Hin Bird's Nest Medicine Company on Pennington Street, and enquired about the price of its fish maw, a Chinese delicacy.
The woman saw "580" on a sign and asked Wong if that was the price for a catty of fish maw. Despite her repeated questions, his reply was "580".
She found out it was HK$580 for a tael - one-sixteenth of a catty - only after ordering two catties.
Wong then demanded HK$18,560 from her. When she refused to pay, he said the item had been cut up and prepared because of her order.
She eventually handed over HK$10,000.
The woman returned in March and recorded her conversation with Wong. She then reported the case to the Customs and Excise Department.
After he was found guilty, Wong told the court in mitigation that he earned only about HK$12,000 per month.
Yesterday, the magistrate noted that although Wong was a salaried employee, his act was akin to fraud.
Outside court, Hui Wai-ming, superintendent of customs' unfair trade practice investigation group, declined to say whether the department had investigated the shop-owner.
Customs carried out 10 prosecutions over misleading trade practices last year, and five more this year as of last month.
Of the 15 cases, six resulted in convictions, though one was quashed after appeal.
