'Illegal workers hired to wash dishes at restaurants'
Immigration officials said on Thursday they've smashed a syndicate that allegedly hired illegal workers to provide dish-washing services to restaurants. They said of the 33 people arrested, 20 are non-locals, with most of them coming from Indonesia through legal means. A senior immigration officer, Derek Siu, alleged they were recruited by a syndicate to do the cleaning, and they had also invited friends to join. "Members of the syndicate entered into outsourcing contracts with restaurants across Hong Kong," he told reporters. "They claimed that legal workers would be hired to provide cleaning and dish-washing services, but in fact they hired low-cost illegal workers to serve to make money." Siu said the cleaners were each paid between HK$300 and HK$500 a day. He said five of those arrested are key members of the syndicate, who allegedly signed contracts with 50 restaurants worth some HK$17 million. The other eight were employers. Authorities believe the syndicate had been in operation for six months.