4 arrested in crackdown on mainland firms offering illegal labour in Hong Kong
Hong Kong authorities have arrested two men and two women in an undercover operation targeting those allegedly working illegally as cleaners and renovation workers, after mainland Chinese businesses advertised their services online ahead of Lunar New Year. Chan Yan-kit, a task force deputy commander of the Immigration Department, said on Friday that the operation was…
Hong Kong authorities have arrested two men and two women in an undercover operation targeting those allegedly working illegally as cleaners and renovation workers, after mainland Chinese businesses advertised their services online ahead of Lunar New Year.
Chan Yan-kit, a task force deputy commander of the Immigration Department, said on Friday that the operation was conducted between January 22 and 29, with officers posing as customers to lure suspects into the city before arresting them.
They were located after police found advertisements by the mainland companies on social media platform RedNote.
Chan said the four suspects, aged between 32 and 58, were two women who offered cleaning services and two men who acted as renovation workers.
A department spokesman told the South China Morning Post that the two cleaners received prison sentences of 54 days, while authorities had laid a charge against the two renovation workers.
“Investigations showed that these cleaners, capitalising on increased demand for such services in homes ahead of Lunar New Year, advertised on social media platforms their availability to provide them in Hong Kong,” Chan said.
