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Task Force officers of the Immigration Department yesterday (April 28) arrested four illegal workers and one person suspected to have employed them during an anti-illegal workers operation at an elderly home in Hong Kong West. The four illegal workers were female, aged from 38 to 48. Among them, three were overstayers and found in possession of forged Hong Kong identity cards. Task Force officers also unearthed two suspected forged Home Visit Permits from the illegal workers¡¦bags during the operation. All the illegal workers were detained for further enquiries.
The spokesman warned that it was an offence in law to use or possess a forged identity card. Offenders are liable to prosecution and a maximum penalty of a $100,000 fine and imprisonment for 10 years.
The Immigration spokesman also warned, "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 to a maximum fine of $50,000 and to imprisonment for two years."
The spokesman appealed to employers not to employ illegal workers, warning that it was an offence to employ people who were not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years. To deter unlawful employment, the High Court laid down a sentencing guideline in 2004 reaffirming that it was a serious offence to employ someone who was not legally employable, and the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.
Ends/Thursday, April 29, 2010
Issued at HKT 11:57
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