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The Immigration Department has launched a new Announcement in the Public Interest on television and radio to raise public awareness of the serious consequences of illegal employment.
The new API highlights the new sentencing guidelines laid down by the High Court in September last year that illegally employing relatives or clansmen is not a mitigating factor. The employer should be sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence.
The new API, comprising three episodes, will be screened from tonight between 8pm and 9pm on TVB and ATV Chinese and English channels. It will also be broadcast on Cable TV, Now and Galaxy channels between 6pm and 8pm.
The radio API will also be broadcast on both English and Putonghua channels at 7pm tonight while the radio API on Cantonese channels will be broadcast at noon tomorrow.
API highlights legal liabilities
The new API intends to draw public attention to the legal liabilities that employers face if involved in illegal employment.
According to records of the past two years, sentences for employers convicted of illegal employment can be up to 18 months' jail while illegal workers face a sentence of up to 15 months.
A contractor hiring construction workers without identity cards, a restaurant captain employing his relative who is not lawfully employable, and an employer of a foreign domestic helper deploying her maid to perform non-household duties are the three main characters of the stories. Having committed the offence of illegal employment, they all received immediate jail sentences.
Under the laws of Hong Kong, it is an offence for both employer and employee to engage in illegal employment.
Upon conviction, the employer is liable to a maximum fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years. The employee who breaches conditions of stay is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for two years.
Report through 24-hour hotline
The Immigration Department attaches great importance to combating illegal employment to protect employment opportunities for Hong Kong residents.
In 2003, 5,739 operations were conducted resulting in the arrest of 16,548 illegal workers and 1,078 employers, while in 2004 (January to November), 7,340 operations were conducted leading to the arrest of 14,570 illegal workers and 1,268 employers.
The Immigration Department appeals to people to report illegal employment through the 24-hour telephone hotline 2824 1551, by fax at 2824 1166 or by email at anti_crime@immd.gov.hk.
In 2003, 10,412 reports were received and in 2004 (January to November), the figure was 11,945. The Immigration Department will, through various channels, continue combating illegal employment, and appeals to all Hong Kong residents not to take the risk of hiring illegal workers.
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