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Hontrade Engineering Limited was fined $48,000 at the Fanling Magistrates' Courts recently for a wage offence under the Employment Ordinance. The prosecution was launched by the Labour Department.
The employer failed to pay wages to an employee within seven days of the expiry of the wage period. The amount of wages involved was about $44,000.
According to Section 23 of the Employment Ordinance, wages due upon expiry of the last day of the wage period 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.
The Labour Department also urged employees who were owed wages to immediately report to its complaint hotline on 2815 2200.
Ends/Sunday, July 30, 2006
Issued at HKT 11:35
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