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Two directors of High Merit Ltd. trading as New Fuk Wan Seafood Hotpot Restaurant were today (July 7) sentenced to 160 hours and 120 hours of community service respectively for wage offences under the Employment Ordinance at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts. The prosecution was launched by the Labour Department.
A spokesman for the Labour Department welcomed the judgment, saying that it would send a strong message to directors or responsible persons of a limited company that they had a personal responsibility to ensure that wages were paid to employees in accordance with the Employment Ordinance.
This case involved eight employees with different posts such as cashier, waiter, kitchen workers and sales manager. The cashierˇ¦s June 2008 wages were paid later than seven days upon expiry of the wage period. The other seven employees were not paid wages after seven days upon termination of employment contract. The total amount of non-payment of wages involved was $174,867.74.
The Labour Department took out investigation and evidence showed that the wage offences were committed with the directorsˇ¦ consent, connivance or neglect.
According to Section 23 and 25 of the Employment Ordinance, wages due upon expiry 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 commits an offence. In addition, Section 64B of the 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. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a maximum penalty of a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.
"The Labour Department does not tolerate wage offences and spares no effort in prosecuting employers and directors or responsible persons of limited companies who defy the law," the spokesman said.
Employees who are owed wages should call the Labour Department's complaint hotline, 2815 2200, immediately.
Ends/Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:48
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