Parmjit Kaur, former vice-president of HR at Harry’s International, has pleaded guilty to making false salary declarations.
She was convicted in the State Courts yesterday (20 June) and fined $40,000, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has announced.
Parmjit was
originally charged with 20 counts of false declaration in November last year. She was eventually convicted of five charges with the remaining 15 taken into consideration.
Parmjit was working as president and chief operating officer from 1 March 2012 to 1 July 2013, then moving to the position of vice-president of HR. Between April and September 2013, she made the false declarations in the work pass applications of 20 foreign employees.
Despite knowing she would pay the workers a monthly salary below $3,100 – the minimum salary requirement for an Employment Pass (EP) – she instructed her subordinate to declare this amount on each application.
By supplying false information to the Controller of Work Passes, the 20 EPs were approved and issued to the employees.
Each worker was also provided with a Letter of Offer for the position of chef de partie saying they would be paid $3,100 per month.
However, the employees had to return $1,600 as reimbursement for meals and transportation a day after the salary was transferred to their bank accounts. Additionally, meals and transportation were only provided to certain employees – the actual cost of which was less than $1,600.
This practice of reimbursement continued for several months.
Making false declarations of S Pass and EP salaries to the Controller of Work Passes is a serious offence,
Kandhavel Periyasamy, director of employment inspectorate at MOM’s Foreign Manpower Management Division, said.
“We will take stern action against persons or companies, including barring them from applying for new work passes and renewing their existing work passes.”
Those found guilty could be fined up to $20,000 and/or jailed for up to two years under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA).
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