The Government attaches great importance to cases where Hong Kong residents are suspected of being lured to Southeast Asian countries and detained to engage in illegal work. Following the meeting with the Consul-General of… read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: Regarding an earlier announcement on a cluster of Covid-19 cases, the spokesperson for TWGHs Wong Tai Sin Hospital gave the following update today (January 17… read more
​Before the Chinese New Year holidays, the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department conducted an operation codenamed “Solar Flare” against suspected unlicensed hotels and guesthouses at Yau Tsim Mong District for three consecutive days from January 14 to 16 to ensure the safety of lodgers as well as the general public.
A spokesman for the OLA said, “Based on intelligence gathered, the OLA carried out surprise inspections on six premises. All six premises were suspected of operating unlicensed hotels or guesthouses. The OLA will initiate prosecution on cases with sufficient evidence after completion of the investigation.”
The spokesman stressed, “Operating unlicensed hotels or guesthouses is a criminal offence, and such an offence leads to a criminal record upon conviction. According to the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance, an offender is liable to three years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $500,000. A fine of $20,000 for each day can also be imposed during which the offence continues. A six-month closure order may also be issued for a hotel or guesthouse involved in a repeated offence.”
Apart from conducting special operations during festive seasons, the OLA also steps up efforts to combat unlicensed guesthouses via online platforms. The OLA has strengthened its intelligence collection by forming a dedicated team to browse webpages, mobile applications, social media, discussion forums, etc, to search for information and intelligence on suspected unlicensed guesthouses. The OLA’s law enforcement officers will initiate follow-up investigations when information on unlicensed guesthouses advertised via online platforms is found. The OLA also conducts publicity work on Internet search engines outside Hong Kong to enable tourists’ access to the information provided by the OLA in the course of planning their trips to Hong Kong.
Tourists and members of the public can make use of the search functions on the OLA’s website to check whether the hotel or guesthouse concerned is licensed or not. Any suspected unlicensed hotel or guesthouse should be reported to the OLA by the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805), or through the mobile application “Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses”.
Hong Kong Customs detected two suspected smuggling cases involving ocean-going vessels on January 5. A large batch of suspected smuggled goods with a total estimated market value of about $35 million was seized.
Through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, Customs discovered that criminals intended to use ocean-going vessels to smuggle goods. Enforcement operations were thus formulated, with two suspicious containers scheduled to depart from Hong Kong to the Mainland, via ocean-going vessels selected for inspection.
Customs inspected the two abovementioned containers that were declared as carrying aluminium ingots on January 5. Upon examinations, Customs officers found large batches of suspected smuggled goods, including hard disks, display cards, RAM units and other electronic products in the containers.
An investigation is ongoing. The likelihood of arrests is not ruled out.
Being a government department primarily responsible for tackling smuggling activities, Customs has long been combating various smuggling activities on all fronts. Customs will keep up its enforcement action and continue to resolutely combat sea smuggling activities through proactive risk management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies, and carry out targeted anti-smuggling operations at suitable times to disrupt relevant crimes.
Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years upon conviction.
Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a series of territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations codenamed “Twilight”, and joint operations with the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed “Champion” and “Windsand”, for four consecutive days from January 13 to yesterday (January 16). A total of eight suspected illegal workers, one suspected employer and two overstayers were arrested.
During the anti-illegal worker operations, ImmD Task Force officers raided five target locations, including premises under renovation and restaurants. Two suspected illegal workers were arrested. The arrested suspected illegal workers comprised two men, both aged 37.
During operation “Champion”, enforcement officers raided 54 target locations in Eastern and Western districts. Six suspected illegal workers, one suspected employer and two overstayers were arrested. The arrested suspected illegal workers comprised three men and three women, aged 28 to 59. One woman, aged 53, was suspected of employing the illegal worker and was also arrested. The arrested overstayers comprised two women, aged 42 and 44. One of the overstayers was also suspected of using and being in possession of a forged Hong Kong identity card. Among them, six suspected illegal workers, one suspected employer and one overstayer were 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.
