Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting with the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan today (March 17): … read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting tomorrow (March 18) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (SFST) will move a proposed resolution under the Public Finance Ordinance to seek the Council’s approval to give for a sum not exceeding $215,865,713,000 to be charged on the general revenue for expenditure on the services of the Government in respect of the financial year commencing on April 1. The proposed resolution is set out in Appendix 1.
Dr Fernando Cheung, Mr Wu Chi-wai and Mr Andrew Wan will move four separate amending motions to SFST’s proposed resolution. The amending motions are set out in Appendices 2-5 respectively.
Meanwhile, the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Concessions) Bill 2020 and the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Ship Leasing Tax Concessions) Bill 2020 will be introduced into the Council for the First Reading and the Second Reading. The Second Reading debate on the Bills will be adjourned.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary for Administration will present The Government Minute in response to the Annual Report of The Ombudsman 2019 and address the Council.
Members will also ask the Government 22 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.
The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk). Members of the public can watch or listen to the meeting via the “Webcast” system on the LegCo Website. To observe the proceedings of the meeting at the LegCo Complex, members of the public may call 3919 3399 during office hours to reserve seats. read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
The Judiciary announced today (March 17) that the registries and offices of the Labour Tribunal and the Small Claims Tribunal (except the Information Centre) will re-open on March 19 (Thursday).
To deal with the high volume of registry business anticipated in the initial period following the re-opening of the registries, the capacity of the registries and accounts offices of the two tribunals will be suitably expanded to cope with the expected upsurge in workload. Special arrangements, including a ticketing and triage system, will also be implemented to regulate the flow of people.
Parties and other court users are urged not to do filing and other registry business in the first few days of the re-opening of these registries, unless the matters are really urgent and must be done in the first few days of re-opening.
For court users of the Labour Tribunal whose appointment to meet a Tribunal Officer was affected by the closure of the registry, they need not go to the Labour Tribunal upon the re-opening of the registry. They should attend the registry on the date of the re-scheduled appointment as communicated to them by the Tribunal Officers by telephone.
The Information Centre of the Small Claim Tribunal will re-open on March 23 (Monday).
Preventive and crowd management measures
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Having struck a careful balance between public health considerations and the orderly re-opening of registries, the Judiciary will continue to put in place appropriate preventive and crowd management measures for the health protection of all people who enter and remain in the court premises. Court users are required to have their body temperature taken and wear a surgical mask before they are allowed to enter and remain in the court premises. The Judiciary will constantly review the situation and introduce any new measures as appropriate.
For effective crowd management, a ticketing and triage system will be adopted to regulate the number of court users accessing and remaining in the registries and offices.
Information on the detailed arrangements will be provided and uploaded onto the Judiciary website. Court users are strongly advised to check the updated information on the Judiciary website, and follow the advice of the Judiciary staff and security personnel when they attend court premises for court business.
Enquiries and information updates
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For general enquiries, the following hotlines will be operated from Monday to Friday from 8.45am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5.30pm:
The Home Affairs Department (HAD) recently received a large number of complaints against the Sham Shui Po District Council (DC) members, Mr Lee Man-ho and Mr Lao Ka-hang, for displaying insulting notices at their joint war… read more
An Indian illegal worker holding a recognisance form was jailed by Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts yesterday (March 16).
During an anti-illegal worker operation conducted on March 12, Immigration Department (ImmD) investigators raided a car park in Cyberport. A male Indian, aged 27, was arrested while working as a car washing worker. Upon identity checking, he produced for inspection a recognisance form issued by the ImmD, which prohibits him from taking employment. A further investigation revealed that he was a non-refoulement claimant.
The illegal worker was charged at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts yesterday with taking employment after landing in Hong Kong unlawfully and remaining in Hong Kong without the authority of the Director of Immigration or while being a person in respect of whom a removal order or deportation order was in force. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment. Meanwhile, he was also charged with two counts of using a Hong Kong identity card related to another person and was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for each count. All sentences are to run concurrently, making a total of 15 months’ imprisonment.
The ImmD spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are 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. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment should be applied in such cases. 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. Offenders are liable to prosecution and a maximum penalty of a $100,000 fine and up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. 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. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.
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 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, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments. read more