The Social Welfare Department (SWD) held a commendation ceremony for the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project today (May 10) to honour about 200 participating home-based child carers (HCCs) for the caring and neighbour… read more
The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a series of territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations and joint operations with the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed “Champion” and “Windsand” for four consecutive days from May 6 to yesterday (May 9). A total of eight suspected illegal workers, three suspected employers and one suspected aider and abettor were arrested.
During the anti-illegal worker operations, ImmD Task Force officers raided six target locations including premises under renovation and restaurants. Six suspected illegal workers and two suspected employers were arrested. The arrested suspected illegal workers comprised four men and two women, aged 30 to 58. Among them, one man was a holder of recognisance form, which prohibits him from taking any employment. In addition, one woman was suspected of using and being in possession of a forged Hong Kong identity card. Two women, aged 47 and 52, were suspected of employing the illegal workers and were also arrested.
During operation “Champion”, enforcement officers raided 37 target locations in Western district. Two suspected illegal workers, one suspected employer and one suspected aider and abettor were arrested. The arrested suspected illegal workers comprised one man and one woman, aged 41 and 47. One man, aged 43, was suspected of employing the illegal worker. One woman, aged 60, who was suspected of aiding and abetting a person who breached the condition of stay in Hong Kong was also arrested.
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, or to transfer an identity card to another person without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. 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 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.
The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (May 10) released the latest grading of water quality for 39 gazetted beaches (see Note 1) and one non-gazetted beach (see Note 2).
Twenty-one beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 12 as Fair (Grade 2) and seven as Poor (Grade 3).
Grade 1 beaches are:
| Big Wave Bay Beach* | Lower Cheung Sha Beach |
| Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach* | Middle Bay Beach |
| Chung Hom Kok Beach | Pui O Beach* |
| Clear Water Bay First Beach | South Bay Beach* |
| Clear Water Bay Second Beach* | St. Stephen’s Beach |
| Deep Water Bay Beach* | Stanley Main Beach* |
| Hap Mun Bay Beach* | Tai Po Lung Mei Beach* |
| Hung Shing Yeh Beach* | Tong Fuk Beach |
| Kiu Tsui Beach | Turtle Cove Beach |
| Kwun Yam Beach | Upper Cheung Sha Beach |
| Lo So Shing Beach |
| Butterfly Beach* | Kadoorie Beach* |
| Cafeteria New Beach | Repulse Bay Beach* |
| Cafeteria Old Beach | Shek O Beach* |
| Castle Peak Beach | Silver Mine Bay Beach* |
| Discovery Bay Tai Pak Beach | Silverstrand Beach* |
| Golden Beach* | Trio Beach |
| Anglers’ Beach* | Lido Beach* |
| Approach Beach | Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach* |
| Casam Beach* | Ting Kau Beach* |
| Hoi Mei Wan Beach |
In response to the Japanese Government’s plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
From noon on May 9 to noon today (May 10), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 212 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the “aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt” category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS’s thematic website titled “Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan” (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).
In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 52 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD’s website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO’s website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
From August 24 to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 49 957 samples of food imported from Japan (including 32 429 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 12 886 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more
The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, May 10, 2024 is 106 (same as yesterday’s index). read more