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"As a result, 3,024 illegal workers, and 1,139 suspected employers of illegal workers have been arrested. Some 2,328 illegal workers and 415 employers have been prosecuted," said Mr Lai at the Governor's third Summit Meeting on Employment this (Thursday) afternoon.
He stressed that these results should not be seen as a matter of short-term expediency as the Government had always regarded the combating of illegal employment one of its priorities.
He said prosecution of both illegal workers and employers of illegal workers had been increasing since 1993.
"We prosecuted 2,531 illegal workers in 1993; we prosecuted 4,683 illegal workers in 1995.
"In 1993, we prosecuted 519 employers of illegal workers; in 1995 we prosecuted 1,170 employers," he said.
The increases, since January, in the maximum fines for employing illegal workers (from $250,000 to $350,000) and for taking up unapproved employment (from $5,000 to $50,000), have helped enhance the deterrent effect of enforcement actions.
Mr Lai noted that after the revisions, there had been a conspicuous increase of fines imposed by the courts on both illegal workers and their employers.
"For example, fines for employers of illegal workers have increased from the $2,000 to $7,500 range in December 1995, to the $2,000 to $50,000 range in July and August 1996.
"Fines for employers aiding and abetting breaches of condition of stay (including employment) have also increased considerably from the $2,000 to $5,000 range in December 1995, to the $2,500 to $20,000 range in July and August 1996.
"In early August this year, a restaurant was fined $50,000 for employing a person not lawfully employable. In serious cases, custodial sentences of three to 12 months were imposed," he said.
Mr Lai said legislative and administrative measures were being taken to overcome two obstacles to effective prosecution of employers who employ contract workers illegally.