17 immigration violators busted

Government clamps down on illegal workers, employers.

According to a release, twelve illegal workers and five suspected employers were arrested in a city-wide crackdown yesterday.

Immigration officers raided 25 locations including restaurants, premises under renovation, refuse collection points and tailor's shops. They arrested 12 illegal workers, three men and nine women aged 24 to 52, and three men and two women aged 39 to 46, who were suspected of employing them.

The department warns visitors not to take up employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the director. Offenders are liable to prosecution and face a maximum $5,000 fine and two-year prison sentence on conviction.

The maximum fine for those convicted of hiring people who are not lawfully employable is a $350,000 fine and three years in prison.