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| One of the FDHs arrested during the territory-wide operations |
A series of anti-illegal work operations that specifically targeted foreign domestic helpers who breached their conditions of stay resulted in the arrest of 17 persons from May 17 to 19 (yesterday).
Those arrested included nine suspected illegal
workers and eight employers.
The suspected illegal workers comprised two who are
currently employed as FDHs, three former FDHs who had overstayed their visas, three
holders of non-recognizance documents (asylum seekers) and one imported worker.m
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They were found working in food and beverage shops,
groceries, hairdressers, and as cleaners.
The eight suspected employers, comprising two men
and six women aged 26 to 76, were owners of the companies or restaurants
involved, or were the contractual employers of the arrested FDHs.
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| Items seized during 'Operation Swordfish' |
In a press briefing, Immigration officers said they
found at least two FDHs moonlighting at businesses owned by their employers.
One worked one to two hours as a waitress and
kitchen assistant during the busy times at a restaurant owned by her employer.
Another was found doing multi-tasking at a grocery
store operated by her employer’s family, from opening the shop to working as
bookkeeper and cashier.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Separately, a Pakistani man was arrested for providing
cheap haircuts and dye jobs to fellow countrymen in a salon in Wan Chai which
he plastered with posters to escape detection.
Immigration says its investigation into the cases is
continuing, and more arrests are possible.
In addition, it has released a new video reminding
employers not to hire FDHs employed by other people, or arrange for them to
engage in illegal work. The publicity video will be released on the official
social media platforms of the Immigration Department.
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| Immigration officers give a press briefing on the arrests |
Immigration said in a statement, “A helper should
only perform domestic duties for the employer as listed in the 'Schedule of
Accommodation and Domestic Duties' attached to the Contract. The helper should
not take up any other employment, including part-time domestic duties, with any
other person. The employer should not require or allow the helper to carry out
any work for any other person.”
Employers who hire illegal workers can be fined up
to HK$500,000 and jailed a maximum of 10 years.
The illegal workers themselves can be imprisoned for
up to two years and fined a maximum of HK$50,000.
If they are found to have overstayed or have pending
applications for non-refoulement or are illegal immigrants, the maximum penalty
is three years in jail and a HK$50,000 fine.
Apart from this, they can be deported on orders by the Chief Executive and prevented from returning to Hong Kong if they have been found guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment for not less than two years.
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