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Joint enforcement operations codenamed "Champion" were mounted by the Immigration Department, Police Force and Labour Department yesterday (November 4), on Hong Kong Island and in the Kowloon West Region, to combat illegal employment activities, resulting in 19 arrests.
The operation, which began at 4am and ended at 6.30pm yesterday, resulted in the arrest of 15 illegal workers and four employers. During the operation, law enforcement officers visited 104 target locations in Causeway Bay, North Point and Western districts in Hong Kong Island, and 49 locations in Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hung Hom, Sham Shui Po and Cheung Sha Wan districts in Kowloon West Region, and checked the identity documents of 356 people. The illegal workers comprised five men and 10 women, aged between 21 and 56.
Two men and two women, whose ages ranged from 22 to 43, were suspected to have employed the illegal workers.
Meanwhile, during another anti-illegal worker operation at a retail shop in Lai Chi Kok yesterday, Immigration Department Task Force officers arrested one female illegal worker and one man suspected of employing an illegal worker, aged 33 and 52 respectively. Moreover, the illegal worker was also suspected of using and being in possession of a forged Hong Kong identity card.
"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 face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years' imprisonment," 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 up to 10 years' imprisonment.
The spokesman also appealed to employers not to employ illegal workers, warning that it was an offence to employ people who are 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 for failing to do so is a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for one year. To deter unlawful employment, the High Court laid down sentencing guidelines in 2004 reaffirming that it was a serious offence to employ someone who is not legally employable, and stating that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.
Ends/Friday, November 5, 2010
Issued at HKT 20:00
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