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The Immigration Department arrested 16 illegal workers and seven people suspected to have employed them during a series of territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations on July 7 and 8, 2010.
Immigration Task Force officers raided 30 target locations, including Korean restaurants, a logistic company, a warehouse, temporary stalls, a garbage depot, retail shops, a massage centre and a residential unit under decoration, in various districts. The illegal workers comprised five men and 11 women aged between 19 and 54. Among them, one man was suspected to have been in possession of a forged Hong Kong identity card.
The seven people suspected to have employed illegal workers were four men and three women. They were aged between 39 and 71.
"Visitors are not allowed to take up employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and to imprisonment for two years," an Immigration Department spokesman said.
The spokesman also warned that it was an offence in law to use or possess a forged identity card. Offenders are liable to prosecution and a maximum penalty of a $100,000 fine and imprisonment for 10 years.
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. The spokesman also warned that it was an offence for employers to fail to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the latter is not holding a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty is a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for one year.
Ends/Friday, July 9, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:00
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