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| Only $500 was involved in the case of the 2 Filipinas charged with excessive collection of agency fees |
An Indonesian woman who claimed to be a staff of an
employment agency was fined $3,600 today, Jul 3, at Kowloon City Court for
overcharging a jobseeker.
In contrast, two Filipina staff of another employment agency
were acquitted last week of collecting $500 from a job applicant instead of the
$452, or 10% of her first salary which she should have paid, a difference of
just $48.
Magistrate Dick Lee cleared Juliet Balicao and Melanie
Fisher of a charge of “excessive commission” filed by the Employment Agencies
Administration following a complaint of overcharging made by Filipina job
seeker, Maribel Madeja.
Madeja, who was placed by the two
between January and February last year, said the $500 was collected by the
agents as guarantee that she would return to Hong Kong
after going home for an emergency.
She claimed she was charged an
additional $500 by the two for their services when she went back to the agency.
The magistrate, however, rejected the domestic helper’s
evidence as incredible and unreliable.
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| Kowloon City Court ruled on the excessive fee collection against Best Ka Hei |
In today’s case, Indonesian Sri Utami, who reportedly introduced
herself as a staff of Best Ka Hei Employment Agency, was fined by Kowloon City
A government press release did not state the amount that was
collected from the complainant.
The jobseeker filed a complaint in April 2019 against Utami
and a staff of the agency which has an office in Kowloon City
The agency’s staff was prosecuted in Kowloon City Court
earlier and fined $3,000 after conviction.
Under the Employment Ordinance, an agency licensee, his
associate, or a person purporting to act in such capacities, is not allowed to
collect more than 10% of a job applicant’s monthly salary upon successful
placement.
The Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, which took effect on Feb 9, 2018, has raised the maximum penalty for overcharging job seekers to a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.
For enquiries or complaints about unlicensed operations or overcharging by employment agencies, call the EAA at 2115 3667, or visit its office at Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon.
The Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, which took effect on Feb 9, 2018, has raised the maximum penalty for overcharging job seekers to a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.
For enquiries or complaints about unlicensed operations or overcharging by employment agencies, call the EAA at 2115 3667, or visit its office at Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon.
