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Ng Ka-wai trading as Co-Agent Electrical Project Company was fined $20,000 and sentenced to three-months' imprisonment, suspended for three years, today (April 3) for failing to take out an insurance policy for his employee as required by the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (ECO).
The Permanent Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, welcomed the sentence at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts and said, "This is the heaviest sentence ever imposed on an employer for breaching the requirements on work compensation insurance.
"This was the second case in the past five months that a suspended jail sentence has been imposed on an employer who failed to secure insurance cover for his worker. This shows that the courts have been attaching more importance to these cases. Employers should not defy the law," he said.
The defendant employed a technician to carry out electrical work in July last year. On August 16, while the technician was at work, he received an electric shock and was sent to hospital for treatment. He died on September 2.
On September 5, the defendant reported the accident to the Labour Department and stated that no insurance policy had been taken out for the technician on the day of accident. The Labour Department confirmed the content of the report after an investigation.
Subsequently, the defendant was prosecuted under section 40(1) of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance and pleaded guilty to the charge in court.
Section 40(1) of the Ordinance stipulates that employers are required to take out insurance policies for all their employees to cover their liabilities both under the Ordinance and common law for injuries at work.
Mr Cheung stressed that employers failing to secure insurance cover for their employees committed an offence and were liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for one year. In addition, they are liable to pay a surcharge to the Employees Compensation Assistance Fund Board.
According to section 109B and C of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, a suspended sentence shall be treated as a sentence of imprisonment. If an offender is convicted of an offence punishable with imprisonment committed during the operational period of a suspended sentence, the court may order the suspended sentence to take effect.
Ends/Monday, April 3, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:03
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