The Ministry of Manpower has charged a Singaporean businessman in the state courts for allowing 18 foreign workers to be housed in overcrowded living quarters.
Thirty-four-year-old Li Dan faces 18 charges of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act for failing to provide accommodation to his workers compliant with regulations. If convicted, he can be fined up to $10,000 or be imprisoned up to 12 months, or both, per charge.
Li’s company, Shuang Lin Construction Pte Ltd was also charged for submitting false information in the Online Foreign Worker Address Service – an online system where employers update the addresses of their foreign workers with the MOM. If convicted, the company can be fined up to $20,000 for each of the 22 charges.
Between October 2015 and July 2016, Lin arranged for the foreign workers to be housed in overcrowded premises at Upper Paya Lebar, MacPherson and Changi. These premises had then exceeded the prevailing allowed occupancy load of eight occupants under Urban Redevelopment Authority’s guidelines.
MOM ordered the company to relocate the affected workers to other approved accommodation.
Between March 2016 and April 2016, the company furnished false addresses of 22 FWs to the Controller of Work Passes in the OFWAS. It declared that the FWs were staying at Tuas South Avenue, when they were not.
Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations, employers who contravene any of the conditions of the work pass will be guilty of an offence under Section 22(1)(a) of the EFMA. On top of penalties imposed by the Court, MOM will also bar errant employers from employing Fws.
Employers are also required to register or update their FWs’ residential addresses through OFWAS, within five days of the FWs moving to a new address.
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