A construction company proprietor has been fined $24,000 at the Fanling Magistrates' Courts for committing wage offences.

The prosecution was taken out by the Labour Department.

The employer failed to pay wages to an employee within seven days of the expiry of the wage period and the termination of employment, as required by the Employment Ordinance.

The amount of wages involved was $19,800.

According to Sections 23 and 25 of the Employment Ordinance, wages must be paid as soon as practicable within seven days of the expiry of the wage period or termination of employment.

Any employer who fails to do so wilfully and without reasonable excuse is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and one year's jail.

There were 311 summonses and successful convictions for late and non-payment of wages as of the end of August, an increase of 262% compared with 86 summonses in the same period last year.