Hong Kong's Immigration Department and the Hong Kong Police Force have
mounted joint operations from Aug. 11 to 13 to combat illegal employment
activities. A total of 32 illegal workers, one overstayer and four suspected
employers were arrested.
During the three-day operations, officers of the Immigration Task Force
raided a number of target locations including restaurants, a packaging factory,
a laundry factory and units under renovation, arresting 32 illegal workers, one
overstayer and four suspected employers.
Also in the operations, three Chinese mainland visitors comprising two men
and one woman were arrested for breaching their conditions of stay after being
involved in suspected parallel goods trading at Ka Fu Close in Sheung Shui. The
goods involved milk powder, food, shampoo, medicine, sterilizing products and
health-care products.
Since September 2012, a number of operations have been conducted, during
which a total of 1,331 Chinese mainlanders and 14 Hong Kong residents were
arrested for suspected involvement in parallel goods trading. Of these, 201
mainlanders were prosecuted for breach of conditions of stay, while the
remaining 1,130 people were repatriated. Among those prosecuted, 192 out of 201
were sentenced to imprisonment for four weeks to three months and charges were
withdrawn for another nine people.
"Visitors are not allowed to take 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 HK
dollars and up to two years' imprisonment," an Immigration Department spokesman
said Thursday.
The spokesman also warned that it is an offence to use or possess a forged
identity card. Offenders are liable to prosecution and a maximum penalty of a
100,000-HK-dollar fine and up to 10 years' imprisonment.
The spokesman also appealed to employers not to employ illegal workers,
warning that it is an offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable.
The maximum penalty is a fine of 350,000 HK dollars and imprisonment for three
years.
To deter unlawful employment, the High Court laid down sentencing guidelines
in 2004 reaffirming that it is a serious offence to employ someone who is not
legally employable and stating that the employer of an illegal worker should be
given an immediate custodial sentence.