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Employer Charged in Court with 100 Counts of Non-payment of Salary

Employment practices Foreign manpower
An employer was charged in the Subordinate Courts today (4 June 2009) for failure to pay the salaries of his foreign workers. Julian Yip Si Wei faces charges of failing to pay salaries of 100 foreign workers hired by his two companies, M Power Engineering & Iron Works and Zippon Marine & Engineering.

2.   Yip allegedly failed to cancel the workers' permits and repatriate his workers even though he did not have work for them. Instead, he retained them in Singapore without paying their salaries.

3.   The cases against M Power Engineering & Iron Works and Zippon Marine & Engineering were the result of proactive probes by a MOM taskforce set up earlier this year to detect errant employers, including those who have salary arrears. The MOM taskforce consolidates and analyses information surfaced from inspections as well as intelligence received on possible salary arrears cases in order to investigate those employers that may have breached the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA).

4.   "More than 60 companies with salary arrears have been identified through the taskforce's efforts since it was set up. Of these, more than 70% have been successfully resolved. Two other employers1 were also charged in March this year for failure to pay salaries of their workers. The Ministry will continue to step up our enforcement operations to take employers who fail to discharge their obligations to task. Errant employers will face the full consequences of the law," said Aw Kum Cheong, Divisional Director, Foreign Manpower Management Division.

5.   Employers who no longer have any work for their workers are advised to continue paying their salaries, or to cancel the work permits and send the workers home after all outstanding payments have been made. Failure to pay salaries on time is an offence under the EFMA. Employers who fail to pay their employees could be fined up to $5,000 or imprisoned for a term not exceeding 6 months, or both. They will also be blacklisted from hiring foreign workers in future.  

 

1Loke Siew Fai (Director, Tipper Corp Pte Ltd) and Paul Lee Chiang Theng (Director, Gates Offshore Pte Ltd, Goldrich Venture Pte Ltd and S1 Engineering Pte Ltd) were charged on 19 March for failing to pay the salaries of their foreign workers on time.