Report: 2 Pinays held in HK for illegal recruitment of maids

Hong Kong immigration officials have arrested at least two Filipino women allegedly running syndicate ring that uses fake documents to obtain domestic helper visas for Filipinos and Sri Lankans. Immigration Department assistant director Leung Kwok-hung hinted at more arrests related to the racket, according to a report Thursday on Hong Kong’s The Standard. The two Filipinas, who were not named in the report, were described as 30 and 50 years old. Authorities believe the two to be in charge of the illegal employment agency. While the younger Filipina is a permanent resident, the other is in Hong Kong using a domestic helper’s visa. Both face a maximum fine of HK$150,000 (P816,113) and 14 years’ imprisonment if found guilty of making a false statement or representation under the Immigration Ordinance, the report said. Seized in Wednesday’s raid were forged documents, four computers and three passports belonging to domestic helpers after raiding a unit in a commercial building in Mong Kok, the report added. A separate report on Radio Television Hong Kong said authorities announced the arrests Wednesday. It also quoted officials as saying the racket was an isolated case. Leung said an initial check of the seized documents showed 13 of the 35 domestic helpers whose approved visas were based on false documents have arrived and will be tracked down. The report quoted Leung as saying authorities were alerted to the ring when they noticed some suspicious documents such as tax returns and electricity bills last May. He said most of the employers’ addresses were nonexistent, although the agency’s correspondence address was the same in all cases. The correspondence address was a unit in Ho King Commercial Centre in Mong Kok, The Standard cited a source as saying. On the other hand, principal immigration officer Wong Yin-sang said the agency was not on the commercial building’s directory. Not really for domestic helpers Leung said the agency charged applicants between HK$18,000 and HK$25,000 (P97,933 to P136,018) for a successful application. This was six times the HK$3,000 to HK$4,000 (P16,322 to P21,763) charged by bona fide employment agencies, he said. He added their investigation showed the “employers" were not really hiring domestic helpers, and that the “maids" are likely take up other forms of employment after getting their visas. — LBG, GMA News