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A joint enforcement operation codenamed "Powerplayer" was mounted by the Immigration Department, Police Force and Labour Department in the Kowloon West Region yesterday (April 19). On the same day, another anti-illegal worker operation was conducted by the Immigration Department Task Force in the same district.
Operation "Powerplayer" began at 8am and ended at 8.30pm yesterday. Law enforcement officers raided 50 target locations including restaurants, retail shops, renovation units in residential buildings, loading bays of logistics companies and stalls in Temple Street and Tung Choi Street. In this operation, 10 illegal workers, two overstayers, one illegal immigrant and two employers were arrested. The illegal workers are men aged between 20 and 43. Among them, seven people were holders of recognisance forms, which prohibit employment.
Another anti-illegal worker operation was mounted by the Immigration Department Task Force on the same day. During the operation, two male illegal workers, aged 26 and 31, were arrested in a flat under renovation. They were holders of recognisance forms, which prohibit employment.
"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 or to establish or join in any business. Offenders are liable to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for three years," an Immigration Department spokesman said.
The spokesman also 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/Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:10
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