Sheung Wan employer fined $10,000

Shatin Magistrates Courts

A Shatin judge fined a Chinese business owner $10,000 for employing an overstaying Filipino woman in Sheung Wan.

Acting Shatin Principal Magistrate Don So Man-lung fined the Chinese woman on February 23 after she pleaded guilty to the charge of being an employer of a person not lawfully employable.

“I will deal with this with a fine. You are fined $10,000,” the judge told the defendant.

The prosecutor said the defendant owned a dim sum restaurant in Sheung Wan and it was inspected by the authorities in October.

During the surprise inspection, a Filipino woman identified as J. Abaya, a former domestic worker, was found working inside the restaurant.

“She caught when she still had her apron on,” the prosecutor said.

The government lawyer said a background check of Abaya showed that she had been overstaying in Hong Kong since her permission to stay here expired in 2013.

The defendant’s lawyer said the restaurant had been losing money in the last two years but the defendant agreed to pay the fine.

The prosecutor did not say if the illegal Filipino worker had also been brought to court for trial.