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| Lalaan in a photo taken from Facebook |
A Filipino pastor was today fined $10,000 and ordered to reimburse $7,000 to an employer after pleading guilty at West Kowloon Magistracy to operating an unlicensed employment agency.
Jonathat Edorot Lalaan, 64, pleaded guilty to the charge of operating an employment agency without a licence between Mar 22 and 24, 2022 in Tung Chung. The charge was filed as a result of an information laid by the Labour Department on Mar 21, 2023.
Lalaan, a permanent resident and is known in the Filipino community as a pastor and a former court interpreter, is also facing a complaint by a foreign domestic helper who claims to have paid him $25,000 on Feb 3 last year, after he promised to secure a job for her partner who is in the Philippines.
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| I-CLICK DITO! |
Marissa M. said in complaints she filed with the police and the Philippine Consulate, that months after she paid the money, he told her he could not secure the promised job and offered a refund. However, he has yet to comply with this promise.
According to a statement released by the government,
the Labour Department received a complaint in May 2022 from an employer who was
seeking to hire a FDH and paid Lalaan a sum of money for this purpose.
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| PRESS FOR DETAILS |
After an investigation, the Department was able to
determine that Lalaan was operating an unlicensed employment agency and decided
to prosecute.
The
Department warned that all establishments or persons operating a business in Hong
Kong for the purpose of obtaining employment for another person or supplying
personnel to an employer must obtain a licence from the Labour Department
before undertaking any recruitment activities.
TAWAG NA!
Except
for the person licensed to operate an employment agency, no one shall operate,
manage or assist in the management of the said agency.
Anyone found to have violated these laws could result in revocation of the licence and face prosecution. The maximum penalty for someone operating an unlicensed employment agency or overcharging commission from job-seekers is a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.
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| PINDUTIN |
Any matters related to the operation of EAs or complaints about their malpractices
may contact the Employment Agencies Administration of the LD by calling 2115
3667, e-mailing ea-ee@labour.gov.hk,
or visiting its office at Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1
Mong Kok Road, Kowloon.
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| PADALA NA! |
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