Vietnam is to expel 40 Chinese caught working on a Singaporean sand excavation project without work permits, an official said Tuesday.
The expulsions in the southern province of Ba Ria Vung Tau are the latest in a series of crackdowns on undocumented Chinese workers that began last year.
"The phenomenon of Chinese people entering Vietnam on tourist visas but staying to work has become widespread," said Tran Cong Hieu, deputy head of the Ba Ria Vung Tau Coast Guard.
In early April, the Ba Ria Vung Tau Coast Guard inspected several Belize-owned ships hired by a Singaporean company, Santarli Construction Pte Ltd, to excavate sand in the seaport of Loc An for export.
The Coast Guard found 43 Chinese workers on board, of whom 40 had entered the country on tourist visas and had no work permits. The other three had expired work permits.
Hieu said authorities fined each worker 540 dollars and barred them from working. He said the 40 workers with tourist visas would be expelled while those with expired work permits would most likely be denied a request for a renewed permit.
Hieu was unsure how the Singaporean company had recruited the workers.
Singapore imports large quantities of sand from Vietnam for land reclamation. Imports from Vietnam have increased since Cambodia banned sand exports last year.
Vietnamese authorities began cracking down on undocumented workers in early 2009 after Chinese-run bauxite mines in the country's Central Highlands were found to be employing thousands of unskilled Chinese labourers. Unskilled workers are not eligible for work permits.
Source: DPA