VZCZCXYZ0677
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHHK #1878/01 2790635
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 060635Z OCT 09
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8686
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS HONG KONG 001878 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G, DRL, INL, EAP/RSP, EAP/CM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM SMIG HK CH
SUBJECT: HONG KONG POLICE READY TO PROSECUTE TIP IF VICTIMS 
WILL PRESS CHARGES 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Although Hong Kong uses a broader 
definition of sex trafficking in persons (TIP) than that 
found in international covenants, its officials across the 
board insisted to visiting G/TIP officers September 9 that 
identified sex TIP crimes continue to be rare.  Police and 
immigration officers argued that while they look for TIP 
indicators during interviews of suspects detained for 
possible immigration or prostitution violations, evidence has 
shown that most of the sex workers come of their own 
volition, which would preclue them from being identified as 
TIP victims by Hng Kong authorities.  On foreign domestic 
worker (FDWs), the Labor Department relies on public 
eucation campaign, surprise inspections, and the athority 
to revoke operating licenses to help protct the rights of 
the 270,000 FDWs in the territoy, over half of whom are now 
Indonesian.  Attemps to punish employment agencies for 
illegally withholding FDWs' passports generally prove 
unsuccessful, as most FDWs are unwilling to press charges 
after retrieving their passports with police intervention and 
the police do not pursue criminal investigations charges on 
their own.  An Indonesian workers' NGO representative 
described an illegal salary structure that encourages Hong 
Kong employers to pay as little as half of the Minimum 
Allowable Wage of HKD$3580.  Fifty-three percent of 
Indonesian domestic workers surveyed by the NGO in 2005 
reported being underpaid.  END SUMMARY 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Law Enforcement Efforts, TIP Definition Discussed 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 
(G/TIP) officers Mark Taylor and Christine Chan-Downer met 
with the Hong Kong government, foreign consulate officials, 
and migrant worker NGOs during their one-day visit to Hong 
Kong September 9.  The Hong Kong police (HKP) outlined 
recently adopted measures to enhance their anti-human 
trafficking efforts.  They report they have increased 
training to front-line officers, issued formal standardized 
procedures for trafficking in persons (TIP) investigations, 
increased the number of inspections of suspected vice 
establishments, and arranged with the Department of Justice 
to give legal advice at the early stages of TIP 
investigations.  HKP stressed that "TIP," or people 
smuggling, was one of a select few issues the elite Organized 
Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) was dedicating resources to 
fighting. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In response to the G/TIP officers' questions about 
how Hong Kong laws define TIP, OCTB Chief Superintendent 
Samson Yu explained that any movement of a person in or out 
of Hong Kong for the purposes of prostitution was a TIP crime 
under the Crimes Ordinance.  Taylor noted this definition 
differed from that used in international TIP covenants which 
required elements of force, fraud or coercion to be 
considered a TIP crime.  Taylor voiced concern that Hong Kong 
laws may focus too much on the movement of people and not on 
the exploitative conditions that could cause someone already 
in Hong Kong to be forced into a trafficking situation.  Yu 
acknowledged Hong Kong's definition cast a wider net for sex 
TIP crimes (though not covering labor trafficking), but that 
by no means implied Hong Kong does not take into account 
aggravating factors such as force, fraud and coercion when 
prosecuting TIP crimes.  (Note: Although this was not raised 
at the meeting, Hong Kong's Crime Ordinance Section 130 does 
punish for harboring or controlling another person with the 
intention of committing unlawful sexual acts with others. 
This crime is not contingent on the cross-boundary movement 
of a person, and the punishment of 14 years is more stringent 
than the 10 years imprisonment for TIP. However, Hong Kong 
authorities do not report usage of this law in their 
reporting of trafficking cases. End note.)  Presentations by 
the Hong Kong Immigration Department and Customs Department 
addressed 'smuggling' and 'trafficking' interchangeably, and 
focused on efforts to combat illegal smuggling into Hong 
Kong.  When Taylor inquired how the Crimes Ordinance would 
address debt bondage or labor trafficking cases, Yu responded 
that offenders could be charged with "conspiracy to traffic," 
though during the meeting he acknowledged that this 
conspiracy centers around the transportation of individuals 
into Hong Kong for the purpose of prostitution.  Post has 
requested HKP police provide further clarification on this 
point. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Taylor was surprised that there had not been more 
TIP prosecutions given the low evidentiary threshold for TIP 
crimes and the fact that Hong Kong arrested 3,500 women 
(mostly from the PRC) for illegal prostitution last year 
alone.  Yu insisted the HKP looked for certain TIP indicators 
when interviewing suspects arrested for prostitution and/or 
 
immigration violations, including whether the person was 
assisted by other individuals in coming to Hong Kong 
illegally.  Furthermore, when the HKP determined a person 
likely was not a TIP victim and handed the case over to 
immigration authorities, immigration officers also looked for 
TIP indicators during their interviews.  While Yu did not 
elaborate on the TIP indicators used by HKP or immigration 
officers, he confirmed that they were in line with Hong 
Kong,s definition of 'trafficking in persons'; i.e., 
relating to movement of persons and not relating to force or 
coercion.  Yu noted his experience had shown the majority of 
women working in Hong Kong's sex trade came of their own 
volition and when caught, simply wanted to return home.  Many 
of the women worked as prostitutes in mainland China as well, 
but they come to Hong Kong because they could make more 
money.  When asked whether a woman who came to Hong Kong 
willingly to engage in prostitution but was later coerced or 
forced into sexual servitude could be considered a TIP victim 
in Hong Kong, Yu replied that such a person would not be 
considered a victim, due to their initial willingness to 
engage in prostitution. Individuals identified as TIP victims 
were required by Hong Kong law to testify in court and give 
evidence against their trafficker.  All victims are returned 
to their country of origin after participation in court 
cases. (Note: The conflation of human trafficking and people 
smuggling under Hong Kong law seems to partly explain the 
difficulties experienced by Hong Kong law enforcement 
authorities in identifying victims of sexual servitude or 
forced labor.  End Note.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Challenged by Growing Foreign Domestic Helper Workforce 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) With an estimated 270,000 foreign domestic workers 
(FDWs) in Hong Kong, Labor Department officials admitted it 
was a challenge to monitor all employers or employment 
agencies for possible violations of the Employment Ordinance. 
 They point to public education campaigns, regular but 
unannounced inspections, and the power to revoke licenses as 
their primary tools to ensure labor violations are detected 
and punished.  Currently, there are 1,000 Hong Kong 
employment agencies licensed to place FDWs, according to 
Assistant Commissioner Fong Ngai.  The Labor Department 
annually conducts approximately 1,000 surprise visits to 
employment agencies.  Two agencies have had their licenses 
revoked for overcharging fees to FDWs this year.  Authorities 
explained offenders do not get imprisoned for overcharging, 
but they can be fined up to HK$50,000. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Referring to U.S. concerns raised in the 2008 and 
2009 TIP reports about some Hong Kong employment agencies 
reportedly illegally holding FDWs' passports, Fong noted 
keeping someone's passport with their consent or for certain 
administrative processing was not illegal.  Fong did 
acknowledge there have been instances where HKP was called on 
to retrieve FDWs' passports from their employment agencies or 
employers. The problem, OCTB officers explained, is most FDWs 
decline to press charges against the agencies once their 
passports have been retrieved, thus making it hard to 
prosecute agencies for this practice. 
 
¶7. (SBU) In response to Fong's question about how other 
jurisdictions with large numbers of FDWs dealt with 
labor-related violations, Taylor said some governments 
blacklist employment agencies to prevent them from doing 
future business.  Although he agreed with Taylor that 
protecting FDWs was a shared responsibility between source 
and destination territories, Fong claimed the large amount of 
debt imposed on FDWs by agencies in their home countries was 
beyond Hong Kong's control.  Taylor noted G/TIP often cited 
Hong Kong as a standard-bearer for the rights enjoyed by its 
FDWs, but there were always going to be people who would 
abuse the system, as is also seen in the United States.  He 
encouraged the Hong Kong government to be proactive and seek 
out potential victims as most victims were ignorant of how 
and where to seek help. 
 
-------------------------------- 
NGO Outlines Underpayment Scheme 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Indonesian migrant NGO representative Eni Lestari 
told us some Hong Kong and Indonesia-based employment 
agencies operated an illegal scheme where they offered 
Indonesian FDWs at a discount rate to Hong Kong employers, 
sometimes 50 percent cheaper than the Minimum Allowable Wage 
of HKD$3580 per month.  Describing the plight of Indonesian 
domestic workers in Hong Kong as that 'akin to slavery', 
Lestari, stated that almost every Indonesian recruited for 
 
work as a domestic worker in Hong Kong incurred a debt of 
approximately 21,000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately $2,700) 
which required FDWs seven full months of work to pay off at 
the Minimum Allowable wage.  An employer willing to pay the 
employment agency an agreed portion of their FDWs' training 
and administrative costs up front in one lump payment would 
only have to pay the FDW a HKD$1800 monthly salary for the 
remainder of the 2-year contract.  Lestari told us employment 
agencies coach employers that accept this arrangement to have 
their FDWs sign 
receipts showing they were paid the full minimum wage.  A 
2005 survey of FDWs by the Association of Indonesian Migrant 
Workers found 53 percent reporting they were not receiving 
the minimum wage.  Lestari believed the situation remained 
the same today. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Indonesian Consulate officials told us they had 
received some complaints about underpayment, but those cases 
were rare.  The Indonesian Consulate cited, however, a 
similarly high figure representing recruitment costs for 
Indonesian FDWs -- HK$20,000 (HK$17,000 plus 3,000 in 
interest).  Both Filipino and Indonesian migrant groups 
report that some women lose their jobs before repayment is 
complete.  In these situations, Indonesian Consulate 
officials explained that the Hong Kong agencies had to find 
the FDW a new employer.  The agency is allowed to charge no 
more than 10% of the first month,s wage, though according to 
Lestari, the fees, which are added to existing debt, often 
exceed this legal limit.  On October 5, Indonesian Consulate 
official Sri Setiawati told E/P Chief that FDWs who returned 
home before repayment of debt was complete, however, were not 
normally liable for their debts since the Indonesia 
Government did not want employment agencies going after FDWs 
in their poor villages. 
MARUT