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Singaporean Convicted for Collecting $112,400 in Kickbacks from Migrant Workers

Foreign manpower Work passes and permits

Loo Kim Huat (“Loo”), a 68-year-old Singaporean, has been convicted under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) for collecting kickbacks from 18 migrant workers in December 2020. He was sentenced to a fine of $90,000 and a penalty order of $42,000.

 

2 Loo faced a total of 18 charges under the EFMA. He pleaded guilty today to six charges, with 12 charges taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing.  

 

Case Details

 

3 Loo was the Director, Group Head for Conservancy at WIS Holdings Pte Ltd, which manages Weishen Industrial Services Pte Ltd (“Weishen”), a company providing estate cleaning and maintenance services for town councils. Loo conspired with four individuals — Lim Choong Seng (“Lim”), a former Site Manager at Weishen, two conservancy workers, Kabir Mohammad Humayun (“Kabir”) and Robel, as well as Kamaruzzaman, an employment agent based in Bangladesh — in the collection of kickbacks from 18 employees of Weishen as a condition for the renewal of their work passes, with amounts ranging from $900 to $7,000 for each worker. In total, they collected $112,400 from 18 migrant workers.

 

4 Loo has paid a total of $83,050 as restitution to the affected migrant workers. Of the 18 workers who were affected, nine have returned home. The remaining nine are working in Singapore, with three employed at Weishen.

 

5 Lim was convicted in August 2024 and was sentenced to a fine of $84,000 while Kabir’s case is still pending before the Court.

 

Advisory

 

6 Collecting employment kickbacks from migrant workers is a serious offence, and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will not hesitate to take enforcement action against such unlawful acts. Individuals who are found to have collected kickbacks may be fined up to $30,000, or imprisoned up to 2 years, or both.

 

7 Migrant workers who suspect that they are being asked to give kickbacks can seek help by calling MOM at 6438 5122 or the Migrant Workers’ Centre at 6536 2692.

 

8 Members of the public who are aware of suspicious employment activities, or who know of persons or employers who contravene the EFMA, should report the matter to MOM via MOM’s eService “Report an infringement”. All information will be kept strictly confidential.