Police and other government departments arrested 19 people during a joint operation against illegal workers across Hong Kong Island on Tuesday.
The operation, codenamed POWERPLAYER, targeted multiple crime hotspots and involved personnel from the Hong Kong Island regional police force, including its Police Tactical Unit, and officers from the Western, Central, Wan Chai and Eastern districts.
Those arrested, aged between 25 and 62, comprised six mainland women, six non-Chinese women, two non-Chinese men, two mainland men, two local men and a foreign woman. They were detained on suspicion of offences including breaching conditions of stay, aiding and abetting such breaches, overstaying, possessing a forged identity card, illegally taking employment and hiring individuals not lawfully employable.
Police reiterated that employing people not lawfully employable is a serious offence. Under the Immigration Ordinance, individuals such as illegal immigrants or overstayers are prohibited from taking employment. Offenders face a maximum fine of $50,000 and three years' imprisonment. Employers face a maximum fine of $500,000 and 10 years in jail.
