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| 2 of those arrested are led to an Immigration van |
A week-long operation mounted by the Hong Kong Police to flush out illegal workers has resulted in the arrest of nine people, eight of them suspected illegal workers and one employer.
The suspects comprised two men and six women aged 32
to 57. They were detained during raids conducted from Jan 9 to 15 in multiple
locations, including wet markets, hair salons and retail stores.
Among them, one man and one woman were found to hold
recognizance papers which allow them to stay in Hong Kong as asylum seekers, but
not to work.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Their suspected employer who is aged 32, remains
under investigation by Immigration authorities, who did not rule out further
arrests.
Immigration warned that anyone found to have
violated the condition of their stay in Hong Kong by taking up work, whether
paid or unpaid, shall be prosecuted and upon conviction, be subject to a maximum
fine of $50,000 and up to two years in prison.
Those who are found to have overstayed their visas or entered Hong Kong illegally are meted a more severe penalty.
“As stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration
Ordinance, an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order
or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to
land is prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or
establishing or joining any business,” said the Immigration statement.
“Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of
$50,000 and up to three years' imprisonment.”
In addition, section 20(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance
provides that the Chief Executive may order the deportation of the offender,
and prohibit the person from returning to Hong Kong in future, if the offense
committed is punishable by imprisonment for not less than two years.
Employing an illegal immigrant is a more serious offence for
which the maximum sentence is imprisonment for 10 years and a fine of $500,000.
“According to the court sentencing, employers must take all
practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to
employment,” said Immigration.
The director, manager, secretary or other officers of the
company that knowingly hired, or failed to make enough effort to ascertain the
visa status of the illegal worker, may also be prosecuted.
The High Court has prescribed immediate custodial sentence
for the employer of an illegal worker under sentencing guidelines prescribed
for the offence.
