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The Immigration Department yesterday (August 16) arrested seven illegal workers and six people suspected to have employed them during a territory-wide anti-illegal worker operation codenamed "Twilight".
Operation Twilight began at 7.45am and ended at 8.30pm yesterday. Immigration Task Force officers raided 29 target locations in various districts including restaurants, retail shops, temporary stalls, an elderly home, factory godowns and a residential unit under decoration. In the operation, seven illegal workers and six employers were arrested. The illegal workers comprised one man and six women aged between 28 and 42. Among them, one woman was suspected to be in possession of a suspected forged Hong Kong identity card.
Four men and two women, whose ages ranged from 26 to 49, were suspected to have employed illegal workers.
"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 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. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's identity card or, if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card, his/her valid travel document. The maximum penalty is a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for one year. 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, August 17, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:01
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