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| The accused was convicted after trial at the Shatin Magistrates' Court |
A Bangladeshi man holding a recognizance form, was ordered jailed for 22 months and two weeks by a Shatin magistrate on Friday, September 28, for illegal work.
M.H., who is 34 years old, was arrested while delivering food inside a commercial building in Mong Kok on April 13 this year during an anti-illegal work operation by the Immigration Department.
When his identity was checked, he produced a recognizance form which allowed him to remain in Hong Kong to pursue an application for non-refoulement or against being sent back home – but not work.
The illegal worker was charged at Shatin Court with taking employment while being a person in respect of whom a removal order or deportation order was in force. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted after trial.
A statement issued by the Immigration Departed cited section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, which prescribes a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment and HK$50,000 in fine to 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, who is found to have taken on a job, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining any business.
The statement also warned that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. Under the Immigration Ordinance, the maximum penalty for anyone who employs a person who is not lawfully employable is a fine of $500,000 and 10 years' imprisonment.
If the employer is a company, its director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, may also bear criminal liability.
Further, in accordance with the sentencing guidelines laid down by the High Court, an immediate custodial sentence is prescribed for the employer of an illegal worker.
