Publications and Press Releases

20 April 2016

A Bangladeshi illegal worker holding an immigration recognisance form was jailed at Shatin Magistrates' Courts on April 19. 
 
In October 2015, officers of the Immigration Department (ImmD) received a referral from the Hong Kong Police Force to further investigate an illegal employment case. Enforcement officers raided an unnamed recycling depot in Lok Ma Chau. A male worker, aged 28, was found classifying scrap metal plates from some waste materials. Upon identity checking he was found to be a non-refoulement claimant and holder of a recognisance form issued by the ImmD, which prohibits him from taking employment.
 
The Bangladeshi illegal worker, who appeared at Shatin Magistrates' Courts on April 19, was charged with taking up employment in Hong Kong without the authority of the Director of Immigration and while being a person in respect of whom a removal order was in force. After the trial, he was sentenced to 22 months and 2 weeks' imprisonment.
 
 The spokesman warned that it is an offence for illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order to take any employment or to establish or join in any business. Offenders are liable 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.