Month: July 2026

27 persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operations  
     An ImmD spokesman said, “Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him or her shall be guilty of an offence. Also, visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years’ imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties.” 
 
     The spokesman warned, “As stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land is prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years’ imprisonment. As stipulated in section 20(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance, the Chief Executive may make a deportation order against an immigrant, prohibiting the immigrant from being in Hong Kong at any time thereafter if the immigrant has been found guilty in Hong Kong of an offence punishable by imprisonment for not less than two years. Under the prevailing laws, it is an offence to use or possess a forged identity card or an identity card related to another person. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $100,000 and up to 10 years’ imprisonment.”
 
     The spokesman stressed that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. Under the Immigration Ordinance, the maximum penalty for an employer employing a person who is not lawfully employable, i.e. an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land, has been significantly increased from a fine of $350,000 and three years’ imprisonment to a fine of $500,000 and 10 years’ imprisonment to reflect the gravity of such offences. The director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, of the company concerned may also bear criminal liability. 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. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $150,000 and to imprisonment for one year. In that connection, the spokesman would like to remind all employers not to defy the law by employing illegal workers. The ImmD will continue to take resolute enforcement action to combat such offences.
 
     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) and/or forced labour victims. When any TIP and/or forced labour indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the ImmD officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP and/or forced labour elements. Identified TIP and/or forced labour victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter or temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP and/or forced labour victims to report crimes to the relevant departments immediately.
 
     For reporting illegal employment activities, please call the dedicated hotline 185 185, fax at 2824 1166, email anti_crime@immd.gov.hkIssued at HKT 18:58

Hong Kong Customs alerts public to one model of unsafe collagen cream       
     Customs followed up on earlier media reports and discovered that a model of suspected unsafe collagen cream was being supplied on the market. Customs officers immediately conducted inspections in different districts and purchased the product concerned for safety testing. Results from the Government Laboratory revealed that the product concerned contained Sudan Red, which is a prohibited ingredient as stipulated in the relevant safety and technical standards for cosmetics. The product was suspected to be in contravention of the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance (CGSO).
      
     Moreover, Customs also found that the concerned product only bore warnings or cautions in English and Korean, without any Chinese warnings or cautions, suspected to be in contravention of the Consumer Goods Safety Regulation (CGSR), a subsidiary legislation of the CGSO.
      
     Customs officers later conducted an operation and searched the premises of the retailer involved in the case. No other suspected unsafe collagen cream was found.
      
     Customs reminds members of the public to observe the following safety tips when purchasing and using beauty products:     Customs is committed to the protection of consumer interests and regularly conducts spot checks and safety tests on consumer goods to ensure that they are reasonably safe for use by consumers.

     Customs also reminds traders to comply with the statutory requirements of the CGSO to protect the safety of consumers. Under the CGSO, it is an offence to supply, manufacture or import into Hong Kong consumer goods unless the goods comply with the general safety requirements for consumer goods. Under the CGSR, where consumer goods or their packages are marked with warnings or cautions with respect to their safe keeping, use, consumption or disposal, such warnings or cautions shall be in both English and Chinese languages. Moreover, the warning or caution phrases must be legibly and conspicuously shown on the goods, any package of the goods, a label securely affixed to the package or a document enclosed in the package. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for one year on first conviction, and $500,000 and imprisonment for two years on subsequent conviction.
      
     Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the CGSO to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hkIssued at HKT 18:35

DPO and PMSA jointly organise seminar on application of “iAM Smart” Personal Code in property management  
     The Chairperson of the PMSA, Dr James Wong, and the Assistant Commissioner (Data Applications) of the DPO, Mr Brian Sun, delivered welcoming remarks for the seminar. The Assistant Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD), Ms Rebecca Ho; Chief Manager (Estate Management) of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) Mr Derek Lo; Chief Systems Manager (Data Applications) of the DPO Mr Patrick Lai; as well as a number of industry experts and representatives who had adopted the “iAM Smart” Personal Code attended the seminar and shared their experiences.
 
     Frontline property management personnel are frequently required to carry out visitor registration during their daily operations, which involves collecting and handling a large amount of personal data. In his speech, Mr Sun said that the Government has been actively promoting digital transformation across industries. The “iAM Smart” Personal Code function introduced by the DPO precisely provides an innovative solution that supports identity verification while balancing privacy protection. The “iAM Smart” Personal Code allows citizens to display anonymous personal identity information in the format of a QR code via the “iAM Smart” app, assisting property management enterprises in easily achieving privacy compliance goals.
 
     At present, more than 60 residential estates, government buildings and commercial buildings across the territory have adopted the “iAM Smart” Personal Code to support visitor registration or access control facilities.
 
     During the thematic sharing session, the PCPD introduced the latest privacy compliance guidelines and shared case studies relevant to the property management industry. The HKHA explained recent practical examples of piloting a smart access control system compatible with the “iAM Smart” Personal Code at Tung Wui Estate in Wong Tai Sin and Long Shin Estate in Yuen Long. The DPO introduced how the “iAM Smart” Personal Code could help the property management industry easily achieve privacy compliance goals. In addition, various property management industry experts and representatives shared their practical experiences and the benefits of integrating “iAM Smart” functions into property management workflows, access control facilities and daily operations.
 
     The DPO expressed the hope that the property management industry will continue to innovate, actively embrace digital technology and make good use of the “iAM Smart” functions, and flexibly integrate technology into property management services to jointly build a safer, more convenient and more efficient smart city for Hong Kong residents.
Issued at HKT 18:16

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Ninth Joint Conference on Advancing Hong Kong’s Full Participation in and Contribution to Belt and Road Initiative held in Beijing  
     Vice Chairman of the NDRC Mr Zhou Haibing attended the conference with Mainland officials led by him, including representatives from the NDRC, the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Supreme People’s Court, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the People’s Bank of China, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR.
 
     The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, in his capacity as the chairperson of the Working Group on Belt and Road (B&R) Development under the Steering Group on Integration into National Development, led HKSAR representatives to attend the conference. They included the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, who was also the Hong Kong-side Convenor of the Joint Conference, and representatives from the Department of Justice, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Development Bureau, the Environment and Ecology Bureau, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Belt and Road Office of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the Innovation and Technology Commission, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, and the Office of the Government of the HKSAR in Beijing. Representatives from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Insurance Authority also attended the meeting.
 
     Mr Lam said that the HKSAR Government has been taking forward B&R co-operation to go deeper and drive concrete outcomes. Guided by the eight major steps the country has been taking to support high-quality B&R co-operation, Hong Kong fully participates in and contributes to the B&RI, with a view to actively integrating into and serving the national development.
 
     He pointed out that over the past year, the HKSAR Government has actively expanded its economic and trade networks through deepening ties and co-operation with B&R markets with potential; actively enhanced connectivity with B&R countries through strengthening collaboration in the areas of aviation and ports; actively promoted green finance and stepped up co-operation with B&R countries in areas such as green development and environmental conservation; actively fostered cultural, art and tourism development to facilitate exchanges and mutual learning; as well as continued to attract more young people from B&R regions to pursue opportunities in Hong Kong through various measures. He also expressed gratitude to the Central Government for the staunch support of setting up the International Organization for Mediation headquarters in Hong Kong, which would help strengthen Hong Kong’s role as a capital for international mediation.
 
     He highlighted that the National 15th Five-Year Plan Outline reaffirmed the support for Hong Kong’s deep participation in the high-quality development of the B&RI. To better leverage Hong Kong’s unique advantages under “one country, two systems”, and better integrate into and serve the national development, the HKSAR Government is conducting public consultation on the formulation of Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan. It has proposed the directions for deeply participating in the high-quality development of the B&RI, including leveraging Hong Kong’s strengths as international finance, maritime, and trade centres as well as an international aviation hub and in professional services, pooling capital, projects, talent, technical standards, and professional services, to establish Hong Kong as an important functional platform for the B&RI and a collaboration hub for B&R countries and enterprises.
 
     Mr Yau raised in the meeting that the HKSAR Government has been committed to promoting all-round and multifaceted B&R co-operation. He reported the relevant work progress, including forging more free trade agreements and investment agreements, continuing to follow up on the plan to establish an Economic and Trade Office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and actively advancing the work of the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global to assist Mainland enterprises in expanding their business to overseas markets (including B&R countries) through Hong Kong, with a view to fully taking forward the economic and trade relations between Hong Kong and B&R countries.
 
     The meeting also focused its discussion on the 12 work proposals on further promoting the B&RI that the HKSAR Government put forward for consideration by central ministries, covering international mediation, legal talent training, Mainland enterprises going global through Hong Kong, deepening exchanges and co-operation with B&R countries, construction industry, tax arrangement, offshore Renminbi business, risk management, green talent training, hydrogen development, and tourism, etc. Representatives of relevant Mainland ministries in the Joint Conference introduced their respective work in supporting Hong Kong’s full participation in and contribution to the B&RI, and provided feedback on the HKSAR Government’s work proposals. The HKSAR Government is grateful for the support expressed by relevant central ministries at the meeting on various work proposals, and will actively follow up with them.
 
     In addition, the meeting covered the HKSAR Government’s key areas and major work in its future participation and contribution to the B&RI, including continuing to explore business opportunities along the B&R, facilitating matching and participation of B&R projects, carrying out practical co-operation in new fields, and continuously promoting all-round and multifaceted connectivity. The HKSAR Government will continue to consolidate Hong Kong’s unique institutional advantages under “one country, two systems”, seize the enormous opportunities brought by the national development, strengthen and deepen exchanges and co-operation with B&R countries and regions, give full play to Hong Kong’s role as the functional platform for B&RI, help to build a community with a shared future for mankind through promoting B&R development, and contribute to the Global Governance Initiative, with a view to actively integrating into and serving the national development.
 
     The Arrangement between the NDRC and the HKSAR Government for Advancing Hong Kong’s Full Participation in and Contribution to the B&RI, signed between the HKSAR Government and the NDRC in 2017, provides the direction and a blueprint for Hong Kong’s full participation in and contribution to the B&RI, and sets up the Joint Conference mechanism to discuss relevant matters, with meetings convened at least once a year.
Issued at HKT 16:00

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Adjustment in ceiling prices for dedicated LPG filling stations in August 2026