Hong Kong Immigration Department Arrests 10 Illegal Workers in Major Anti-Illegal Employment Operations

14 persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operations

The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a series of territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations codenamed "Contribute" and "Twilight", and joint operations with the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed "Champion" and "Windsand", for four consecutive days from November 18 to yesterday (November 21). A total of 10 suspected illegal workers, three suspected employers and one overstayer were arrested.

During the anti-illegal worker operations, ImmD Task Force officers raided 30 target locations including a beauty parlour, grocery stores, a massage parlour, commercial buildings, residential buildings, restaurants, retail shops and warehouses. Ten suspected illegal workers and three suspected employers were arrested. The arrested suspected illegal workers comprised four men and six women, aged 32 to 62. Among them, two women were suspected of using and being in possession of a forged Hong Kong identity card. One man and two women, aged 36 to 44, were suspected of employing the illegal workers and were also arrested.

During operation "Champion", enforcement officers raided seven target locations in Mongkok district. One female overstayer, aged 37, was arrested. The arrested overstayer was handled by the ImmD.

An ImmD spokesman said, "Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him or her shall be guilty of an offence. Also, visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years' imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties."

The spokesman warned, "As stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, 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 is prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years' imprisonment. Under the prevailing laws, it is an offence to use or possess a forged Hong Kong identity card or a Hong Kong identity card related to another person. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $100,000 and up to 10 years' imprisonment."

The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. Under the Immigration Ordinance, the maximum penalty for an employer employing a person who is not lawfully employable, i.e. 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, has been significantly increased from a fine of $350,000 and three years' imprisonment to a fine of $500,000 and 10 years' imprisonment to reflect the gravity of such offences. The director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, of the company concerned may also bear criminal liability. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.

According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $150,000 and to imprisonment for one year. In that connection, the spokesman would like to remind all employers not to defy the law by employing illegal workers. The ImmD will continue to take resolute enforcement action to combat such offences.

Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct an initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the ImmD officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threats and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter or temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments immediately.

14 persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operations Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Follow-up work regarding cable trunking coating in public works projects

Regarding earlier media reports on the alleged use of cable trunkings with a coating thickness not meeting the standard in public works projects, the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) followed up immediately and, together with relevant government departments and public organisations, arranged sample taking, testing and reporting by accredited laboratories for 148 ongoing works contracts (including public works projects and public sector contracts) involving cable trunkings to ascertain the compliance with the contract requirements on coating. All the related testing work has been completed.

Some of the works contracts involved more than one cable trunking supplier. Among the 185 cable trunking supplier contracts involved in the 148 works contracts, the cable trunking samples of 142 supplier contracts complied with the contract requirements. The samples in the remaining 43 supplier contracts, involving three cable trunking suppliers did not comply with the contract requirements. The situation of the coating of cable trunkings not meeting the contract specifications was mainly related to unsatisfactory quality control measures on the part of the contractors and suppliers concerned.

The spokesman for the ArchSD reiterated that the coating is used to cover the metal shell of cable trunkings to prevent rusting. It does not support any electrical conduction or signalling functions. Insufficient thickness might limit the durability of cable trunkings but has no risk of electrical leakage and does not pose any risks to the safety and health of the building users, the building's structure, fire safety or operations of the facilities.

The spokesman said that for the non-compliant coating thickness of the cable trunkings, the relevant government departments and public organisations have requested, in accordance with the contract terms, the contractors of the relevant works contracts to make appropriate arrangements, including:

(i) For the six works contracts (involving six cable trunking supplier contracts) which are at an early stage of material installation works for the cable trunkings, the contractors have replaced the non-compliant batches of the cable trunking materials without affecting the works programme;

(ii) For the remaining 28 works contracts (involving 37 cable trunking supplier contracts) where prolonged fencing-off of part of the facilities would be required for the replacement works due to the location and extent of the cable trunkings, a hasty replacement at this stage is not desirable lest it would affect the use and operation of the facilities. The relevant government departments and public organisations have arranged with the contractors to increase the inspection frequency, strengthen inspection and maintenance and extend the warranty period of the material, with replacement to be undertaken as and when deemed necessary. Anti-rusting devices on the cable trunkings would also be installed if feasible; and

(iii) The charges required for the arrangements in (i) and (ii) above were totally borne by the contractors and no additional expenses to the relevant government departments or public organisations were incurred. In accordance with the contract terms, the relevant government departments and public organisations will claim against the contractor(s), as in prevailing practice, if extra expenses and losses are incurred due to the non-compliance of material standard.

In accordance with the works contract terms, the relevant government departments and public organisations have also reflected the non-compliance with contract requirements in the Contractor's Performance Reports, and the assessment will affect their opportunities of being awarded public works contracts in future.

In addition, the ArchSD, together with relevant government departments and public organisations have, since November 2023, enhanced the procedures for inspection and acceptance of the coating of cable trunkings for all on-going contracts which are under construction and all new works tenders invited, as follows:

(i) imposing more specific requirements for documentary proof from contractors on the coating of cable trunkings, including specifying that the manufacturer's certificate of accreditation to recognised Quality Assurance System submitted shall be issued within the past three years; and that the test report by an accredited laboratory submitted shall show that the material tested is of the same batch as material used for the contract; and

(ii) based on the risk-based approach, conducting on-site sample tests as part of the inspection and acceptance procedures for the coating of cable trunkings.