*****************************************************
The Immigration Department today (December 12) mounted an anti-illegal employment operation, mobilising 18 Immigration Officers. During the operation, officers raided black spots for parallel goods trading in the Sheung Shui district, including the vicinity of Choi Yuen Road and two residential flats. Four male Mainland visitors and one female Mainland visitor, aged from 30 to 56, were arrested for breaching their conditions of stay by being involved in suspected parallel goods trading. The goods involved batches of diapers and a large amount of electronic products. One male Hong Kong resident, aged 51, was suspected of employing the parallel goods traders.
All the illegal workers were detained for investigation.
"Visitors are not allowed to take 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 appealed to employers not to employ illegal workers, warning that it is 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 or 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 is 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/Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Issued at HKT 19:42
NNNN
