A local woman was arrested for illegally hiring a driver to help her buy and transport vegetables for her shop. The duo were arrested together on Monday, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Cheuk Kou Chi said at a regular press conference on Wednesday.
The 45-year-old woman surnamed Chao is the owner of the shop. A 45-year-old man surnamed Feng who worked illegally as a driver for Chao, holds a valid Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau (informally known as “two-way permit”) and a Macau driving licence.
According to Cheuk, PSP officers intercepted Feng during a routine check of vehicles on Monday morning in Cotai. Feng was driving a lorry loaded with vegetables. However, he was unable to show his work permit but he provided his “two-way permit” and five receipts for vegetables he bought from a wholesale market in Ilha Verde for a shop in Rua dos Negociantes in Coloane. PSP officers suspected that Feng was an illegal worker.
Under questioning, Feng admitted that he had been a driver working illegally for the shop since the middle of last year, but said that he did not have a fixed monthly salary. Cheuk said that if he needed money for his daily expenses, his “lady boss” who had hired him allowed him to take money from a cash box in the shop.
Feng told the police that before his arrest on Monday he went to the wholesale market to buy vegetables at 7:30 a.m. as usual and transport them to the shop.
PSP officers went to the shop to investigate later that day and arrested Chao who admitted that she had illegally employed Feng.
Chao and Feng were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Tuesday, facing illegal employment charges, according to Cheuk.
Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Cheuk Kou Chi poses at a regular press conference on Wednesday. Photo: Camy Tam
