### Protection of Wages on Insolvency Ordinance 《破產欠薪保障條例》

19. Verification of application
(1) For the purpose of verifying any application under section 15, or if so required by the Board under section 17(3), the Commissioner may make such inquiries as he thinks fit and may in particular, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing and without prejudice to any powers of the Commissioner under any other Ordinance—
(a) interview the applicant and any other employee;
(b) by notice in writing require the applicant or any other person having possession thereof to produce to the Commissioner for his inspection any record, book of account, or other document as may, in the opinion of the Commissioner, be necessary to verify the application;
(c) by notice in writing require any person whom he reasonably believes to have possession thereof to produce to the Commissioner for his inspection any register, record or other document required to be kept by an employer under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57); and
(d) by notice in writing require the employer to whom the application relates or any servant, agent or employee of that employer to attend before him and to answer questions put by him.
(2) Any notice served by the Commissioner imposing any requirement under this section, shall state the time when and place where the person to whom the notice is given shall comply with that requirement.
(3) Any notice to be served on any person under this section may be served by post.
(4) In relation to the Commissioner’s powers under subsection (1) to make inquiries—
(a) any person required to answer questions shall have, in relation to any answer thereto, such privileges as he would have had, had such question been asked in a court but shall otherwise answer any such question;
(b) the Commissioner shall proceed as informally as possible and may determine the procedure to be followed.

20. Decisions under this Part not to be challenged
No decision of the Commissioner or the Board made in exercise of any discretion under this Part shall be challenged in any Court.

21. Power of Commissioner to delegate
(1) The Commissioner may, in writing, authorize any officer of the Labour Department to exercise any of his powers or perform any of his duties under this Part.
(2) In this Part but not in subsection (1) Commissioner (處長) includes any person authorized by the Commissioner under this section.

22. Payment not to affect right to legal aid
Any right of an applicant to receive legal aid under the Legal Aid Ordinance (Cap. 91) shall not be affected by any payment made under section 16 if the purpose of such legal aid is to assist the applicant to recover any further amount due to him under any contract of employment or under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57).

### Protection of Wages on Insolvency Ordinance 《破產欠薪保障條例》

23. Proof by certificate
(1) A document purporting to be under the hand of the Commissioner stating that—
(a) on the date specified therein the sum of money stated therein was paid from the Fund to the person named therein; and
(b) immediately before that date the employer named therein owed to that person the amount of wages, wages in lieu of notice, severance payment, pay for untaken statutory holidays or pay for untaken annual leave, as the case may be, or all or any of them, specified therein in respect of the period or periods stated therein, (Replaced 38 of 1989 s. 5. Amended 7 of 2012 s. 6)
shall be admissible in any proceedings on its production and without further proof and, until the contrary is proved or unless it be shown that the document was not under the hand of the Commissioner, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein. (Replaced 48 of 1987 s. 5)
(2) In this section proceedings (法律程序) includes the lodging of a proof of debt in any bankruptcy or winding-up.

### Protection of Wages on Insolvency Ordinance 《破產欠薪保障條例》

25. Recovery of payment made by mistake
Where—
(a) any payment is made to any person from the Fund under a mistake of law or fact; or
(b) notwithstanding that no person has been charged with or convicted of an offence under section 26, any payment is made to any person, in respect of an application that is false in any material particular,
such payment shall be recoverable by the Board from the recipient thereof as a debt due to the Board.

26. Offences
(1) Any person who—
(a) in providing information for the purposes of this Ordinance including any inquiry thereunder, makes any statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular; or
(b) for the purposes of this Ordinance including any inquiry thereunder and with intent to deceive, produces, supplies or sends, or otherwise makes use of, any document or record which is false in a material particular,

commits an offence and is liable to a fine at level 5 and to imprisonment for 3 months.
(2) Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with any requirement imposed by the Commissioner under section 19(1) or (4) commits an offence and is liable to a fine at level 2 and to imprisonment for 1 month.
(3) Without prejudice to any Ordinance relating to the prosecution of offences or to the powers of the Secretary for Justice in respect of the prosecution of criminal offences, a prosecution for any offence under this Ordinance may be brought in the name of the Commissioner and commenced and conducted by an officer of the Labour Department authorized in that behalf in writing by the Commissioner. (Amended L.N. 362 of 1997)
(4) Where a complaint is made or an information laid for an offence under this Ordinance by the Commissioner or any officer authorized under subsection (3), the complainant or informant shall be deemed to be acting on behalf of the Secretary for Justice. (Amended L.N. 362 of 1997; 23 of 2002 s. 5)
(Amended E.R. 2 of 2012)

27. Regulations
The Chief Executive in Council may by regulations— (Amended 54 of 2000 s. 3)
(a) prescribe anything required or permitted to be prescribed under this Ordinance;
(b) provide for the better carrying into effect of the provisions of this Ordinance.

28. Power of Chief Executive to amend Schedule
The Chief Executive may by notice in the Gazette amend the Schedule.
(Amended 54 of 2000 s. 3)

### Protection of Wages on Insolvency Ordinance 《破產欠薪保障條例》

29. Transitional
(1) The Protection of Wages on Insolvency (Amendment) Ordinance 1987 (48 of 1987) (the amending Ordinance