A spokesman for the Customs and Excise Department today (September 10) reminded parents to watch out for potential hazards posed by the plastic packing of a Frisbee toy.
Customs officers have conducted spot checks in different districts on retailers supplying beach toys. A number of beach toys, together with their plastic packing bags, including the plastic bags in which the toys were packed, were sent to the Government Laboratory for safety tests and one plastic bag of a Frisbee toy failed the tests.
The Frisbee toys imported by a supplier are each contained in an elastic plastic bag of thickness less than 0.038mm, posing a suffocation hazard to children if the bag is put over the head. Customs has issued Prohibition Notices to the supplier and the related retailer, prohibiting the supply of the toy concerned.
Parents are advised to properly dispose of the plastic bags of the toy packaging and make sure that children do not put the bags on their heads.
Under the Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance, it is an offence to import, manufacture or supply unsafe toys in Hong Kong.
The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment of one year on first conviction, and a $500,000 fine and two years' imprisonment for a subsequent conviction.
Customs conducts spot checks on the safety of toys and children's products to ensure their compliance with the safety requirements of the prescribed standards set under the Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance to protect consumer's interests.
To report unsafe toys and children's products, the public can call the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or write to the Consumer Protection Bureau, Customs and Excise Department at 11/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point.
Ends/Thursday, September 10, 2009
