MOCK AUCTIONS ORDINANCE ORDINANCE

MOCK AUCTIONS ORDINANCE ORDINANCE

LAWS OF HONG KONG

MOCK AUCTIONS ORDINANCE

CHAPTER 255





CHAPTER 255

MOCK AUCTIONS

To prohibit certain practices relating to sales purporting to be sales
by auction.

[25th April, 1975.]

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Mock Auctions Ordinance.

2. (1) In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires

'competitive bidding' includes any mode of sale by which prospective
purchasers can compete for the purchase of articles. whether by
way of increasing bids or by the offer of articles to be bid for at
successively decreasing prices or otherwise;

'lot' means a lot consisting of or including one or more prescribed
articles;

'prescribed article- means any article belonging to a class of article
specified in the Schedule;

'sale of goods by way of competitive bidding' means any sale of goods
at which the persons present, or some of them, are invited to buy
articles by way of competitive bidding;

'stated', in relation to a sale of goods by way of competitive bidding,
means stated by or on behalf of the person conducting the sale, by
an announcement made to the persons for the time being present at
the sale.

(2) For the purposes of this Ordinance-

(a)any bid stated to have been made at a sate of goods by way of
competitive bidding shall be conclusively presumed to have
been made, and to have been a bid of the amount stated;

(b)any reference in this Ordinance to the sale of a lot to a person
who has made a bid for it includes a reference to a purported
sale of it to a person stated to have bid for it, whether that
person exists or not; and

(e)any thing done in or about the place where a sale of goods by
way of competitive bidding is held, if done in connexion with
the sale, shall be taken to be done during the course of the
sale, whether it is done at the time when any articles are being
sold or offered for sale by way of competitive bidding or
before or after any such time.

3. (1) Any person who promotes or conducts, or assists in the
promotion or conduct of, a mock auction at which one or more lots are
sold or offered for sale shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on
conviction on indictment to a fine of $20,000 and to imprisonment for 5
years.





(2) Subject to subsection (3), for the purposes of this Ordinance
a sale of goods by way of competitive bidding shall be taken to be a
mock auction if, during the course of the sale,-
(a) any lot is sold to a person bidding for it, and-
(i) the lot is sold to him at a price lower than the amount
of his highest bid for it;
(ii) the whole or any part of the price at which the lo
was sold is subsequently refunded or credited to him or
his nominee; or
(iii) the money, or any part of the money, used to pay
for the lot has been provided by the person promoting or
conducting the sale or by any person assisting him;
(b)the right to bid for any lot is restricted, or is stated to be
restricted, to persons who have bought or agreed to buy
one or more articles;
(c) any articles are given away or are offered as gifts; or
(d)any lot placed or wrapped in an opaque container or
wrapper is sold or offered for sale without the contents
of the container or wrapper being disclosed.

(3) A sale of goods shall not be taken to be a mock auction
by virtue of subsection (2)(a), if it is proved that the reduction in
price, or the refund or the credit, as the case may be,-
(a)was on account of a defect discovered after the highest
price in question had been made, being a defect of which
the person conducting the sate was unaware when that
bid was made; or
(b) was on account of damage sustained after the bid was made.
(4) A sale of goods shall not be taken to be a mock auction
by virtue of subsection (2) if the sale is held by or for the purposes
of any trust or organization which is a charity within the meaning
of section 2 of the Registered Trustees Incorporation Ordinance.

(5) In any proceedings for an offence of assisting in the
promotion or conduct of a mock auction, the accused shall have
a good defence if he satisfies the court that, although he did the
act in question, he did not know, and had no reason to believe,
that the sale of goods by way of competitive bidding to which
the charge relates was a mock auction.

4. (1) A person who promotes or conducts a mock auction
in contravention of section 3 shall, in addition to any liability he
may incur under that section, be liable to pay compensation by
way of damages to any person who has sustained pecuniary loss
as a result of having purchased any prescribed article at the mock
auction.

(2) An action may be brought under subsection (1) in respect
of a contravention referred to in that subsection notwithstanding
that no person has been charged or convicted under section 3 in
respect of the contravention.





(3) Where a person is convicted of an offence under section 3, an
order for the payment of compensation may be made under section 73 of
the Criminal Procedure Ordinance or section 98 of the Magistrates
Ordinance, as the case may be, and those sections shall apply
accordingly.

(4) If an action is brought under subsection (1) after an order has
been made under section 73 of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance or
section 98 of the Magistrates Ordinance, the court shall, if it decides to
award damages, take into consideration the amount of compensation
awarded under the order.

(5) Nothing in this section limits or diminishes any liability which
any person may incur under the common law.

5. The Governor may, by order published in the Gazette, amend the
Schedule.

SCHEDULE [ss. 2 & 5.1

PRESCRIBED ARTICLES

1 . Any plate or plated articles.

2. Linen or articles of clothing.

3. Pictures or prints.

4. China, glassware or antiques.

5. Items of furniture.

6. Items of jewellery.

7. Household appliances and utensils.

8. Electrical appliances and equipment.

9. Articles of personal use or ornament.

10. Ornaments and musical instruments.

11. Any scientific instrument or apparatus.
Originally 28 of 1975. Short title. Interpretation. [cf. 1961 c. 47, s. 3] Schedule. Offence to promote or conduct a mock auction. [cf. 1961 c, 47, s. 1] (Cap. 306.) Liability to pay compensation. (Cap. 221.) (Cap. 227.) Amendment of Schedule.

Originally 28 of 1975. Short title. Interpretation. [cf. 1961 c. 47, s. 3] Schedule. Offence to promote or conduct a mock auction. [cf. 1961 c, 47, s. 1] (Cap. 306.) Liability to pay compensation. (Cap. 221.) (Cap. 227.) Amendment of Schedule.

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