Foreign Worker Convicted for Illegal Employment Scam
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has prosecuted a Bangladesh national, Abul Basher Md Khabiruddin for abetting the illegal employment and deployment of foreign workers. Abul Basher was charged for a total of 66 counts under the Employment of Foreign Workers Act (91A)
1 . He was convicted of 22 charges in court on 17 May 2007 and sentenced to 24 weeks of imprisonment and fined $32,500. Another 44 charges were taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing. He also faced additional charges under the Immigration Act.
Employment Offences
2. The Ministry has been monitoring illegal employment activities by Abul Basher for several months. On 13 March 2006, MOM enforcement officers arrested Abul Basher. An island-wide operation followed resulting in the arrest of 66 foreign workers involved in Abul Basher's employment scam. These workers held marine work permits but worked illegally as construction workers, general workers and cleaners.
3. Abul Basher had set up two marine companies – Top Man Workgroup Construction and Engineering and Super Workgroup Construction and Engineering under the proprietorship of a Singaporean, Jeyaluckshumi d/o Murugaya. He hired out workers in these companies to work as construction workers, general workers and cleaners at various locations in Singapore.
4. Investigations also revealed that Abul Basher had assisted a number of non-marine companies2, to illegally deploy 49 foreign workers to work as construction and general workers at various locations in Singapore.
5. Any person caught employing foreigners without valid work permits will be charged in court. A first-time offender faces a minimum fine equivalent to two years of the foreign worker levy and a maximum fine up to four years' levy for each foreign worker, or imprisonment of up to one year, or both. Repeat offenders will serve a mandatory jail term of up to 12 months in addition to the above fines. A foreigner who is illegally employed can also be charged and is liable on conviction to a fine of up to $5,000 or a jail term of up to 12 months, or to both.
1 Basher was charged 12 counts under Section 5(1) read with section 23(1) for illegal employment of 12 foreigners and 10 counts under Section 5(3) read with Section 23(1). The remaining of the charges were taken into consideration.
2 Olimac Engineering & Services Pte Ltd, JPN Industrial Trading Pte Ltd, Seow Wee Trading Company, Lai & Yoke Foundation, NCK Transport Services, Jian Ann Chairs & Table Services, Polystar Technologies Pte Ltd, Panwah Steel Pte Ltd, and ICSS-CDCS Catering Pte Ltd.