The Home Affairs Department is apparently seeking foreigners to work as “part-time licensing assistants” for HKD140 per hour.

Facebook user Evelyn Ace Mercedes posted what appears to be a newspaper ad for the job, commenting that the department would be getting “monkeys” at that “peanut price”.

The posting explains that the role would involve “posing as a decoy agent” to assist the government in law enforcement and regulatory work relating to gambling, guesthouses, hotels, clubs, game arcades, and karaoke parlours.

So basically, all the fun places.

Duties include “assisting in preparing court documents for prosecution against illegal establishments” and “attending court hearings to give oral testimonies”.

Maybe not so fun.

Candidates must speak a foreign language fluently (e.g. English or Mandarin) and mysteriously, they must also hold a foreign passport (but you have to be a permanent resident).

A quick search also shows that the posting was listed on job search websites like Indeed, CT Good Jobs and Classified Post Jobs.

SCMP columnist Howard Winn wrote on Monday that some lawyers in Hong Kong are expressing “dismay” at the advertisement.

Those in legal professions are apparently wondering why the Home Affairs Department thinks it’s a good idea to use part-time employees to conduct this kind of court preparation and front-line enforcement work.

Winn also suggests that the foreign passport requirement may be because the government is finally going to start cracking down on Airbnb hosts.

Uh oh! You should probably immediately confront the guest in your spare bedroom about whether or not they are a spy.

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