The Social Welfare Department said today suspected reselling of hot meal coupons provided by the Short-term Food Assistance Service Teams has been reported to Police.

The department has found that some service users are suspected of reselling hot meal coupons provided by the service teams following a recent round of cyber patrols on various online trading platforms.

The relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs) responsible for operating the service teams have reported the cases to Police.

Eight service teams in Hong Kong provide basic short-term food assistance to help individuals and families facing immediate financial hardship cope with their daily food expenditures.

The department made it clear that short-term food assistance is not transferable and cannot be resold or exchanged for money or other items.

Should any irregularity or deception be found, the department will show no tolerance or leniency. Apart from immediately terminating the food assistance for the service users, the case will be referred to law enforcement authorities for investigation.

The department has requested all operating NGOs to remind their users about the service terms. The NGOs will continue to vigilantly check the usage of food coupons to ensure the proper use of public money.