Courts were yesterday urged to get tough with bosses who hired mainlanders visiting Hong Kong on two-way permits.
Grenville Cross, for the Attorney-General, said magistrates should clamp down on the increasing number of employers using illegal workers, who deprived local people of jobs.
And taking into account the rise in unemployment, it was vital the courts imposed strict deterrent sentences, he said.
The Court of Appeal call came after magistrate Ian Candy jailed factory owner Wong Chung-lee for three months on May 8 and fined him $10,500 for hiring 21 illegal workers.
Wong, 50, was arrested when police raided his Kwun Tong clothing factory last December 23 and discovered the mainlanders working illegally.
The visitors were paid $12 to $15 an hour.
Of the 21 employees arrested, 13 had been working shifts of more than 15 hours.
