Hong Kong: Man sent to prison for assaulting Tobacco Control Inspector at Internet Cafe
A 38-year-old man was sentenced to six weeks in prison today after assaulting a Tobacco Control Inspector late last year, according to a Hong Kong Department of Health news release today.
Image/CDC
The unnamed man was sentenced at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts to six weeks’ immediate imprisonment for the incident that occurred at an Internet cafe in Sham Shui Po on December 18, 2012.
A spokesman for the Department of Health urged the public to observe the smoking ban requirements and to co-operate with law enforcement officers.
“Intimidation or use of violence on enforcement officers is a serious offence and carries serious legal consequences,” a spokesman said.
This is far from an isolated incident in Hong Kong. Since 2007, 53 cases have been recorded and 11 out of 42 offenders convicted for assaulting TCIs were sentenced to immediate imprisonment. The maximum penalty meted out by the court was immediate imprisonment for four months.
There has been six cases recorded so far this year.
Hong Kong passed a smoke free measure in October 2006, which took effect on January 1, 2007. The law makes most indoor public places and workplaces (including restaurants, karaoke bars, and public swimming pools) smoke free. The law also covers beaches. Bars, bathhouses, night clubs, massage establishments, mahjong rooms in a club, and mahjong-tin kau premises meeting certain requirements were permitted to delay implementation of the law until July 1, 2009.
