News
Watch out for Chinese visitors trading in mobile phones
Chinese nationals here on visitor visas are doing illegal vending of mobile phones, kitchen appliances and other electric gadgets, Immigration authorities warn the public. Last week a Chinese woman was arrested while selling mobile phones in Kandy town.
Immigration Controller Chulananda Perera told the Sunday Times that a special team of officers has been deployed to find and arrest Chinese nationals involved in such illegal business.
“A number of Chinese persons have been deported in the past few weeks,” he said. “These people are here on visitor visas and cannot engage in business. What is more, they sell low-priced mobile phones and other equipment without a warranty.”
T. M. Marso, head of the Kandy Tourist Police, said the woman was selling at Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 7,000 mobile phones that carry market price tags of Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 30,000. The visitor was fined Rs. 50,000 and given a one-year suspended prison sentence.
It was revealed that the woman, a Hong Kong resident, and her travel companions had been visiting a number of countries, including Nepal, Vietnam and South Korea, where they had sold mobile phones.
Bambalapitiya resident Palitha Kulatunga said he was approached by three Chinese women who were selling Chinese-versions of Apple-brand phones.
“They couldn’t speak English, so they punched 20,000 on a calculator. I said it was too much and punched 10,000 and they agreed. But I did not buy the phone because there was no warranty and also I wasn’t sure of the quality,” he said. A three-wheeler driver bought the phone for Rs. 5,000.
Secondary school graduate Loshanya Raviendiran and her friends were snacking in a food court at a Colombo 4 shopping complex when a Chinese couple approached them.
“They offered us phones that sell for Rs. 20,000 and Rs 35,000 for as little as Rs. 5,000 and Rs.3,000. A lot of young people bought their phones,” she said.
Chinese nationals trading in phones and other equipment have been spotted in Fort, Borella, Kollupitiya, Bambalapitiya and Dehiwala. They also operate in rural areas, where they visit homes and sometimes swap phones for antique furniture. They have been seen in areas as distant as Puttalam and Moneragala.
Follow @timesonlinelk
Related Posts:
Women shouldn’t have mobile phones: politicianBSP MP Rajpal Saini has launched a tirade against mobile phones and has publicly declared that women and children do ...
Over 100 mobile phones recovered islandwide from prisonersMore than 100 mobile phones were recovered this week from raids carried out by prison authorities in Vavuniya, Anuradhapura, Galle, ...
STBC discusses safe use of mobile phones"What would you do without a cell-phone on a deserted island?" Cell or mobile phones (for better or for worse) ...
UAE mobile phones foray into SL marketThe growing mobile phone demand is expected to exceed Sri Lanka's current population with over 19 million in use already, ...
New system to track mobile phone theft, illegal phonesSri Lanka Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) is to establish an Equipment Identity Register (EIR) to control access to mobile networks, ...