Hong Kong immigration authorities arrested 34 people, including 13 former domestic helpers who had overstayed their visas, in a three-day operation targeting illegal employment, officials said Friday.
The three-day sweep, conducted Tuesday through Thursday, was the third such action in two months focused on current and former domestic helpers working without authorization.
Immigration Department officers raided restaurants, food manufacturing plants and other locations across the city, arresting 24 illegal workers, two additional overstayers and eight suspected employers.
The illegal workers — one man and 23 women aged 22 to 52 — included 13 former domestic helpers who remained in Hong Kong after their visas expired, 10 individuals holding recognisance forms that bar them from any employment, and one mainland Chinese visitor who overstayed a tourist visa.
Most were employed in low-skilled positions such as dishwashing, cleaning and kitchen assistance, earning daily wages between HK$300 (US$38.50) and HK$500. Authorities said the longest known period of illegal work in the group lasted nearly a year.
The two additional overstayers were Indonesian women aged 23 and 38.
The eight people arrested for allegedly hiring illegal workers — seven men and one woman aged 27 to 64 — were owners or managers of the businesses involved.
“The Immigration Department will continue to actively follow up on the investigation, and we do not rule out that more people will be arrested or prosecuted in connection with the case,” Mo Chuen-kit, deputy commander of the department’s task force, said in a statement.
Mo reminded employers that domestic helpers whose contracts are terminated early or have expired are prohibited from taking any job in Hong Kong.
In 2021, the government amended the Immigration Ordinance to toughen penalties for employing illegal workers, raising the maximum punishment from a HK$350,000 fine and three years in prison to HK$500,000 and 10 years’ imprisonment.
