5 jailed in Hong Kong crackdown on illegal employment
Immigration Department raids 23 locations, including restaurants, cleaning companies and commercial buildings
Five people have been jailed in Hong Kong after an Immigration Department crackdown on illegal employment.
The department said on Friday that it had raided 23 locations, including restaurants, cleaning companies and commercial buildings, during an operation carried out from Monday to Thursday.
Officers arrested six men and 13 women, aged 22 to 62, found or suspected to be working illegally and six employers who allegedly hired them.
Thirteen of those arrested held tourist visas – 11 from mainland China and two from Indonesia. A former domestic helper who allegedly overstayed, an illegal immigrant and four holders of recognisance forms were also arrested in the operation. A recognisance form is a temporary identification document that allows holders to remain in Hong Kong but not to work.
Ng Kwun-cheong, the deputy commander of an Immigration Department task force tackling illegal employment, said five people among those apprehended over illegal employment had already received prison sentences ranging from 51 days to 14 months.
“Most of the arrested illegal workers took jobs such as dishwashers, cleaners and working in kitchens as general workers,” he said. “Some of them had even worked for more than half a year.”
