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The Immigration Department, Police Force and the Labour Department jointly mounted a series of territory-wide anti-illegal workers operations at Lunar New Year Fairs from January 27 to 29.
In the operations, enforcement officers raided target locations at nine Lunar New Year Fairs including those in Victoria Park, Fa Hui Park in Mong Kok, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Tseung Kwan O, Sha Tin, Sheung Shui, Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan, and four illegal workers and three employers were arrested. The illegal workers comprise three men and one woman aged between 32 and 45. One man and two women, whose ages ranged from 24 to 78, were suspected of employing the 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 face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years' imprisonment," an Immigration Department spokesman said.
The spokesman 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 was not legally employable, and stating that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.
Ends/Thursday, January 30, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:40
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