Police caught 87 alleged illegal workers in Cotai

The Public Security Police (PSP) raided a construction site in the Four Seasons Hotel yesterday where 87 alleged illegal workers and three sub-contractors were caught, making it the largest case of this kind in recent years.
In the joint operation by more than 60 PSP and special police officers and the Labour Affairs Bureau in the morning, 87 alleged illegal workers and three employers were taken away by four police vans for further investigation.
Among the 86 men and one woman workers, 34 hold Chinese passports, 41 hold travel passes (two of which expired), 11 hold Hong Kong identity cards, and one claimed that she holds a Vietnamese passport.
The PSP said the workers were hired for 220 to 800 patacas a day for putting up ceiling decorations and cleaning work.
The three employers were surnamed Vong (Macau resident), Ko (Hong Kong resident) and Chen (mainland resident), from 30 to 46 years old.

137 people deported

Meanwhile, total of 137 people were deported from Macau between August 21 and September 21 this year, as part of the “Thunderstorm 09” operation between Macau, Hong Kong and Guangdong counterparts.
According to the figures released yesterday by the Unitary Police Service, of the 137 deported, 30 were illegal immigrants, 40 were working illegally, 49 had overstayed their visas, 15 did not meet “tourist” requirements and three were expelled from the territory.
In addition, during this year’s operation, the three counterparts also carried out 180 inspections to entertainment venues including casinos, saunas, karaoke bars, cyber cafes and snooker rooms. Illegal inns were also raided on, however the police said it had mitigated the situation after irregularities were found in the running of some inns, hotels and rentals.
Also between August 21 and September 21, five local residents from Macau were deported from the mainland and handed over to the Judicial Police here after being found taking drugs. According to authorities, these five locals had already been punished in the mainland previously.
Every year, Macau, Guangdong and Hong Kong police counterparts take part in a tri-lateral security operation in order to strengthen cooperation and communication.