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Territory-wide enforcement operations codenamed "Twilight" and "Windsand" were mounted by the Immigration Department and the Police Force today (April 25) to combat illegal employment activities. A total of 17 illegal workers and two suspected employers were arrested.
During operation "Twilight", immigration officers raided 25 target locations including an office, a bakery workshop and premises under renovation, arresting three illegal workers. The three illegal workers were three men aged between 28 and 37. Two men, whose ages were 53 and 63, were suspected of employing the illegal workers.
During operation "Windsand", which was a joint operation between the Immigration Department and the Police Force, 14 Mainland visitors comprising two men and 12 women aged between 31 and 53 were arrested for breaching their conditions of stay by being involved in suspected parallel goods trading at Ka Fu Close and Po Shek Wu Road in Sheung Shui. The goods involved milk powder, infant foods, daily necessities and cosmetics.
All the arrestees were detained for questioning. The operations are still in progress.
Since September 2012, a number of "Windsand" operations have been conducted, during which a total of 705 Mainlanders and 10 Hong Kong residents were arrested for suspected involvement in parallel goods trading. Of these, 101 Mainlanders were prosecuted for breach of condition of stay, while the remaining 604 people were repatriated. Among those prosecuted, 93 out of 101 were sentenced to imprisonment for four weeks to two months. Charges were withdrawn for another eight people.
"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/Thursday, April 25, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:31
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