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Two arrested for allegedly deducting salaries from non-local carers
Two people were on Tuesday arrested for conspiracy to defraud, days after a press conference by the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) revealed that non-local carers had their salaries unreasonably deducted by elderly homes they work at.
The two people – a 49-year-old man and a 75-year-old woman – were arrested in Happy Valley and Wan Chai, respectively.
The arrests were made as a case, listed as illegally obtaining others’ property, was referred to police’s Commercial Crime Bureau, police said on Wednesday.
Sources said the case was referred to police from the Labour Department, adding that the arrested man was the licensee of a registered elderly home, and the woman was a member of his family.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the arrestees allegedly charged the non-local carers a monthly fee ranging between HK$3,000 and HK$5,000 from the HK$14,000 salary stated in carers’ contracts.
The carers ended up getting paid less but the elderly home claimed to the Labour Department that they paid cares’ salaries in full.
It is understood that police have reached out to at least three non-local carers who fell victim to the unreasonable salary deduction.
The matter came into light after a press conference by HKFTU last Friday (Mar 31) called on the government to address the issue and provide assistance to carers.
One of the victims said she came to Hong Kong for the carer job during the Covid-19 pandemic and had paid 14,800 Renminbi to the agency already. Yet, the elderly home she worked for deducted her salary by HK$3,150 for a so-called “labor service fee.”
HKFTU also requested a meeting with the Undersecretary for Labour and Welfare Ho Kai-ming and demanded authorities to initiate an official probe.
The arrests were made as a case, listed as illegally obtaining others’ property, was referred to police’s Commercial Crime Bureau, police said on Wednesday.
Sources said the case was referred to police from the Labour Department, adding that the arrested man was the licensee of a registered elderly home, and the woman was a member of his family.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the arrestees allegedly charged the non-local carers a monthly fee ranging between HK$3,000 and HK$5,000 from the HK$14,000 salary stated in carers’ contracts.
The carers ended up getting paid less but the elderly home claimed to the Labour Department that they paid cares’ salaries in full.
It is understood that police have reached out to at least three non-local carers who fell victim to the unreasonable salary deduction.
The matter came into light after a press conference by HKFTU last Friday (Mar 31) called on the government to address the issue and provide assistance to carers.
One of the victims said she came to Hong Kong for the carer job during the Covid-19 pandemic and had paid 14,800 Renminbi to the agency already. Yet, the elderly home she worked for deducted her salary by HK$3,150 for a so-called “labor service fee.”
HKFTU also requested a meeting with the Undersecretary for Labour and Welfare Ho Kai-ming and demanded authorities to initiate an official probe.
