Two Filipina recognizance form holders were arrested with 12 other people during anti-illegal worker raids across Hong Kong on Monday, Nov 1, by Immigration officers.
Nine suspected illegal workers and five suspected employers were arrested in the raids carried out on 10 target sites including an industrial building, premises under renovation, restaurants, a retail shop and a shopping mall.
The arrested suspected illegal workers comprised three men and six women aged 31 to 50, a statement from the Immigration Department said on Tuesday. No names were supplied.
One man and four women, including the two Filipinas, were holders of recognizance forms, which prohibit them from taking any employment.
Five men aged 41 to 62 were suspected of employing the illegal workers.
Immigration warned that those who violate their condition of stay, particularly those not allowed to take up employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, are liable to prosecution. If found guilty, they face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years in jail.
All illegal immigrants who are subject of a removal or deportation order, overstayers or those who have been refused permission to land, are also banned from taking up employment or to set up a business. Offenders face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years’ imprisonment.
Employing people belonging to any of these categories is also a serious offence, for which the maximum penalty is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for up to 10 years.