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An illegal worker holding an Immigration recognisance form was this Tuesday (March 9) jailed for eight months by Sha Tin Magistrates' Court. Holders of Immigration recognisance forms are not allowed to take up employment.
During an anti-illegal worker operation on January 12, the 24-year-old man was found working in a restaurant at Chung King Mansion in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Investigations revealed that the illegal worker entered Hong Kong as a visitor in June 2006 and was arrested by the Police in January 2007 for having overstayed in Hong Kong. He was then detained for repatriation for one month and subsequently released on Immigration recognisance on February 12, 2007. In March 2007, he lodged a torture claim after being issued with a removal order earlier on February 16, 2007.
He was charged with one count of taking employment unlawfully while being a person on whom a removal order is in force. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. On March 9, 2010, he was convicted and jailed for eight months, taking into account his previous detention.
"The Immigration Department will continue to strengthen law enforcement to combat unlawful employment now that the Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance 2009 is in effect. It is an offence for illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order to take any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or to establish or join in any business. Offenders are liable to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for three years," an Immigration spokesman said.
The spokesman appealed to employers not to employ illegal workers, warning that it was an offence to employ people who were not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years. To deter unlawful employment, the High Court laid down a sentencing guideline in 2004 reaffirming that it was a serious offence to employ someone who was not legally employable, and the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.
Ends/Thursday, March 11, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:48
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