A MAN who employed two illegal immigrants to work in his Yuen Long motor business must serve his eight-month jail term, the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday.
Hui Wai-man, 37, had appealed against conviction, arguing he had taken all practicable steps to determine whether the two men were lawfully employable.
Hui was convicted last October at Tuen Mun Court by Magistrate Hugh Sinclair but was allowed bail pending appeal.
As this was the first time the defence has been argued, the case was sent to the Court of Appeal to decide what constituted 'practicable steps'.
Giving the court's reserved judgment, Mr Justice Keith said each case must be determined on its own facts, but suggested various steps employers could take.
It would rarely be enough just to check an identity card, but employers might question prospective employees about their domestic circumstances, their skills and their work experience.
If there was nothing suspicious about the identity card or the answers to these questions, the court said this might be sufficient to establish practicable steps, even if people did not check with the Immigration Department hotline on the identity card or check with previous employers.
