Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is the English translation of the opening remarks made by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, at a media session today (April 9) at the Central Government Offices on the latest situation of the search by the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) for a Register of Electors relating to the 2016 Legislative Council (LegCo) General Election:

     It had come to the attention of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB) last week that a Register of Electors relating to the 2016 LegCo General Election could not be located. I considered that the matter was very serious and immediately demanded the REO to conduct a thorough search to ascertain if the Register had been lost. The REO has done detailed and comprehensive searches of a number of storage areas for electoral materials over the past few days and it was confirmed this morning that the Register cannot be found.

     The REO has reported the case to the Police and formally notified the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) this morning. I have also instructed the REO to: (a) inform affected electors as soon as possible; (b) send letters to government departments and organisations which have frequent handling of personal data in their daily work to alert them to the incident; and (c) review the voter registration information of the some 8,000 electors on the Register to see if there have been unusual changes since 2016. If any abnormality is found, the REO will contact the relevant electors to verify and follow up.

     I feel regret about the incident and once again extend my apology to the affected members of the public. I understand that the way REO handles the matter is disappointing. Public elections in Hong Kong have all along been held in an open, fair and honest way. There is no question of compromising people’s confidence because of any wrongdoing.

     I have requested the REO to follow up on the matter in a serious manner, including: (a) fully co-operating with the Police and the PCPD in their investigations; and (b) submitting a comprehensive report on the incident to the CMAB and the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC). If it is found that human errors or deliberate cover-up are involved, we will definitely handle the matter in accordance with the established disciplinary mechanism.

     The EAC has decided to conduct a thorough review of the incident to find out if there are any problems or loopholes relating to the electoral arrangements as well as overall management of the REO with a view to mapping out improvement measures. The CMAB will provide independent administrative support to the EAC in conducting the review. It is expected that the EAC will complete the report eight weeks after commencement of work. read more

Attention TV/radio announcers:      Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:      The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (April … read more

     The Highways Department (HyD) said today (April 9) that some ventilation fan components of the Air Purification System (APS) at the East Ventilation Building (EVB) of the Central – Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corrid… read more

     Five illegal workers comprising three Bangladeshis and two Indians were jailed at Shatin Magistrates’ Courts yesterday (April 8).
      
     During a joint operation conducted by the Immigration Department (ImmD) and the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed “Champion” on February 27, enforcement officers raided a restaurant in Mong Kok. Three female Bangladeshi illegal workers and two male Indian illegal workers, aged 33 to 47, were arrested. When intercepted, they were working as dish washing workers. Upon identity checking, they all produced for inspection recognisance forms issued by the ImmD which prohibit them from taking employment. Further investigation revealed that they were non-refoulement claimants. Meanwhile, one employer suspected of employing illegal workers was also arrested and the investigation is ongoing.

     The five illegal workers were charged at Shatin Magistrates’ Courts yesterday with taking employment after landing in Hong Kong unlawfully and remaining in Hong Kong without the authority of the Director of Immigration or while being a person in respect of whom a removal order or deportation order was in force. They pleaded guilty to the charges and were sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment. As one of the Indian men committed a related offence during his suspended sentence, the Court sentenced him to a further two weeks’ imprisonment, running consecutively, making a total imprisonment term of 15 months and two weeks.

     The ImmD spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are 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. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment should be applied in such cases.
 
     The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. 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. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.
 
     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct initial screening on 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 officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threat 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 interference, medical services, counselling, shelter, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments. read more

     The Labour Department (LD) is investigating a fatal work accident that occurred in Yuen Long this morning (April 9) in which a man died.        The LD immediately deployed staff to the scene upon rece… read more