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Company fined for wage offences
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     RMJM Hong Kong Limited was fined a total of $53,000 at Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (February 14) for wage offences under the Employment Ordinance. The prosecution was launched by the Labour Department.

     The company failed to pay wages to five employees within seven days after the expiry of the wage period as required by the Ordinance. The total amount of payment involved was about $410,000. It had been convicted four times for offences relating to wage payment and defaulting on payment of Labour Tribunal awards during the period from July 2011 to May 2013 and had been fined a total of $68,000.

     A spokesman for the Labour Department said the department will not tolerate wage offences and will spare no effort in bringing to justice employers who defy the law.

     "Prosecution will also be taken out on company directors if there is sufficient evidence that any wage offence is committed with their consent, connivance or negligence," the spokesman added.

     According to Section 23 and 25 of the Employment Ordinance, wages due upon expiry of the last day of the wage period or upon termination of employment shall be paid as soon as practicable, but not later than seven days. Any employer who fails to do so wilfully and without reasonable excuse is liable to a maximum fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.

     Section 64B of the Employment Ordinance stipulates that where any wage payment offence committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, the director, manager, secretary or other similar officer shall be guilty of a like offence, and be liable to a maximum fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.

Ends/Friday, February 14, 2014
Issued at HKT 12:00

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