The head of a Singaporean company has argued that licensing breaches were the result of HR failings
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Ho Yow Ping, CEO of Mary Chia Holdings, was recently found guilty of employing three foreign workers without the prior approval of the Licensing Officer and was ordered to pay a fine of $2,600 for the offense.
Five other similar charges and one additional charge of failing to keep a proper employee’s record were brought against the head of the popular beauty company but were eventually taken into consideration.
Had the courts found her guilty on all counts, Ho would have had to pay nearly $9,000 in fines.
Ho earlier said that the oversight was committed by the company’s human resource department when they hired the workers in 2015 without completing the proper paperwork, but she has since pleaded guilty to the charges, thus lowering the fine she had to pay.
In Singapore, beauty and spa therapists are required to get the approval of the Licensing Officer and failure to do so is considered a breach of Massage Establishment Rules, according to a report by ChannelNewsAsia.
In addition to these charges, Ho had also received three charges for a breach of employment under the Foreign Manpower Act in May of last year.
According to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA), any employer seen as contravening any condition of a work pass is subject to a fine up to $100,000 or imprisonment up to a year, or both.
