Eleven males have been arrested for operating a fake employment scheme through a property management company, earning about one million yuan (1.2 million patacas) by “selling” unused non-resident worker (NRW) quotas, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou said during a special press conference yesterday at its Zape headquarters.
Lei identified the suspects as the company’s 56-year-old local owner and 66-year-old local manager, a 37-year-old mainland supervisor, a 48-year-old former mainland employee, and seven mainland men aged between 25 and 59 who obtained bogus work permits.
According to Lei, the case was uncovered while police were investigating a separate illegal employment case involving another company. Officers subsequently discovered that several NRWs registered under the property management company had no salary records and that their entry and exit records at the Zhuhai border did not match the working hours of their purported jobs.
Further investigation revealed that the company’s business had declined in late 2023, leaving several NRW quotas unused. The owner and manager then decided to profit by falsely employing individuals through the unused quotas, with the assistance of a company supervisor and a former employee in sourcing candidates.
Each candidate paid 45,000 yuan for the first year and 36,000 yuan annually for renewals. The scheme had generated about one million yuan since late 2023, Lei said.
The seven fake NRWs allegedly did not work for the property management company after entering Macau. Instead, they took private jobs involving furniture installation, interior renovation, and the removal of construction waste.
PJ officers took action on Wednesday, intercepting the seven suspected fake NRWs at several border checkpoints and arresting the four company members at different locations across Macau. Documents related to the case were also seized at the company’s office in the northern district.
The 11 suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of fake employment. The case has also been referred to the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL), while police continue to investigate whether other individuals were involved.
The suspects face between two and eight years behind bars, according to Macau’s immigration control law.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the eleven hooded suspects to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: Sherwin Hng
