The HKSAR Government will vigorously combat illegal sales practices

About 10 years ago, I went on a trip to Thailand with several families. When we were waiting for our baggage at the Bangkok airport, a member of our tour group found a counter offering a half-day "zero fare" tour. My friend signed up for the tour, and so did I.

In the afternoon, a tourist guide came to our hotel on a minibus and took us to several tourist attractions. Afterwards, we were taken to a shop selling wood carvings and jade products. We walked around the shop for half an hour without buying anything. The tourist guide and shop assistants did not utter even a word of displeasure, and the guide did not ask for or hint at tips from us when we returned to the hotel.

Business should be done in a lawful and ethical manner. A "zero fare" tour is a "zero fare" tour. It should be up to the tourists to make purchases or not. Don't organise a "zero fare" tour if it is not financially viable.

Hong Kong very much needs to rectify some unhealthy trends. Unscrupulous sales practices used to be rampant among local electrical appliance shops but have abated recently. Now, overcharging by switching the price unit from catties to taels and incidents arising from "zero fare" tours have tarnished the reputation of not only the sectors concerned but also Hong Kong as a whole. These sectors must stop all such unfair sales practices or else they will kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

The law enforcement agencies of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government are determined to take vigorous actions against all illegal sales practices.

November 5, 2015