PHILA SIU PHILA.SIU@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 04 August, 2015, 5:18pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 04 August, 2015, 5:18pm
Staff of suddenly-defunct DSC seek help at the Labour Department in Kwun Tong. Photo: Dickson Lee
The boss of collapsed retailer DSC may face criminal prosecution initiated by labour authorities after the company folded all its 14 shops with little warning on Monday, leaving 900-odd staff in limbo.
About 200 DSC employees attended a meeting today with Labour Department representatives at the office of the Federation of Trade Unions, which was assisting them.
The department’s senior labour officer, Grace Chan Wing Han, floated the possibility of launching criminal charges against the DSC boss if evidence showed he had not paid last month’s salaries on purpose.
DSC, or Direct Sales Centre, was founded by Hui Ming-shun in 1997.
“The Labour Department attaches much importance to the case,” Chan, who attended the meeting to answer staff enquiries, said.
“If there is evidence that proves [the DSC boss] deliberately does not pay his staff … we will seek advice from the Department of Justice to consider a criminal prosecution.”
On Monday, hundreds of DSC employees showed up for work as usual – only to find the stores shuttered.
Signs of the company’s financial struggles have surfaced well before that, however, as the retailer of furniture and electronic appliances is sued by landlords over unpaid rents totalling about HK$3.3 million.
DSC customer services manager Cheryln Ma said that although the staff strength was 900, only 200 to 300 of them were permanent employees. The rest, including delivery workers, were hired by contractors and had received their July pay.
“I hope the management can give us an explanation,” said Ma, who was chosen to be an employee representative at today’s meeting.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1846444/boss-failed-retailer-dsc-may-face-criminal-charges-over
