Seven undocumented Vietnamese migrants were arrested for illegally doing farm work in a field in a rural town in Yunlin county, Taiwan, early this month.
Tipped off by residents, officers from the Pei Kang Precinct of Yunlin County Police Department raided a garlic field in the town of Yuanchang on February 2, where four men and three women, all Vietnamese, were working, The Commons Daily reported on Wednesday.
Three of the men and one woman were identified as runaway workers who no longer had valid work permits, while the remaining man and two women were visitors on travel visas who had overstayed in Taiwan.
Police say the runaways admitted they had decided to become farmers to earn more money, while the three overstaying visitors said they had been referred by compatriots to get this job. However, police have yet to locate the owner of the field to confirm whether he or she was the actual employer of these illegal migrants.
A precinct officer appealed to the public not to hire illegal migrants to save costs, as by doing so they risked being liable to large fines.
