Individual falsified pay in order to secure teachers' employment passes
A former principal of a Japanese kindergarten has been sentenced to 20 weeks of jail time after violating the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) by falsifying teachers' salaries to secure their employment passes, according to reports.
The court heard that Yasutaka Mori, 66, falsified the salaries of five foreigners in their employment pass applications, Channel News Asia (CNA) reported.
Mori falsely declared salaries ranging from S$4,500 to S$9,909 for five employees so they could get their employment passes, which at that time had a qualifying salary requirement of S$3,300.
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) prosecutor Amos Tan told the court that Mori would pay the declared salary amounts into the bank accounts of the employees in order to create a paper trail and conceal his offence, according to CNA.
At the end, his employees would withdraw the salaries and return a portion in cash, with Tan noting that the returned amount was between 16% and 48% each month.
Tan sought a sentence of 25 to 29 weeks of imprisonment for Mori, who has made partial restitution of about S$194,000 to the employees.
Meanwhile, Defence lawyer Ng Pei Qi said the teachers were informed as early as the negotiations in Japan that Mori would be declaring a higher salary than they would actually receive.
According to Ng, Mori did this to ensure transparency and avoid exploiting the teachers, who have also reportedly decided on their own to pay him back in cash rather than by bank transfer.
She also noted that the teachers' working conditions were good and they received annual increments, according to the CNA.
But District Judge Ronald Gwee ruled against Mori and sentenced him to 20 weeks of jail time.
Gwee considered in his sentencing Mori's guilty plea to three offences under the EFMA, as well as eight other charges, CNA reported.
According to Gwee, the teachers might not have had any choice but to accept Mori's payment terms in order to get the job.
The former principal's actions also involved deception on the controller of work passes and MOM and were difficult to detect if not for the tip the ministry received.
The district judge said a deterrent message had to be sent by the court, or other potential offenders would try to get away with similar actions.
