Employer jailed for forcing workers to take less pay, housing them poorly

SINGAPORE — An employer who threatened his foreign workers with repatriation if they did not accept lower salaries was sentenced to 34 weeks’ jail on Friday (Feb 24) for a spate of offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Nallusamy Narayanan — who manages three firms and is the sole proprietor of two others, all under the Harri brand name — was convicted of 25 charges, the bulk of which involved putting foreign workers up in “unacceptable accommodation”.

The 41-year-old was also taken to task for falsely declaring his workers’ salaries and employing workers without a valid work pass.

His offences were committed between February and November 2014 and involved at least 100 victims.

The court heard that Nallusamy had threatened two foreign workers into accepting lower basic monthly salaries — S$900 instead of the S$2,300 they were initially promised — saying that their work passes would be cancelled and they would be repatriated.

The prosecution said: “(The two victims) unwillingly accepted the lower salary offered ... as they had borrowed or spent substantial amounts of resources to work in Singapore, and did not wish to risk losing their employment and return home empty-handed.”

The court heard that Nallusamy also put up at least 100 workers at four premises along Opal Crescent, Tanjong Katong Road and Selegie Road, which the authorities found to be unsafe and overcrowded.

The Opal Crescent premises, for instance, was for commercial use and had 42 foreign workers housed in two rooms. These workers shared two toilets and two shower facilities. The unit did not have a proper escape route in case of a fire.

Guidelines from the Urban Redevelopment Authority specify that private residential properties cannot house more than eight workers per unit.

Each of these workers “suffered immense discomfort” due to overcrowding and were exposed to danger, as some premises had shower facilities that were installed next to electrical points, the court was told.

“It was only fortuitous that no lives were lost,” the prosecutors from the Manpower Ministry said.

Seeking a 55-week jail term for the “egregious” offences, the prosecution pointed to Nallusamy’s “blatant disregard (for) the sanctity of the foreign workers’ lives under his charge”.

“Foreign workers are the capillaries of many of our industries ... As their employer, (he) did not treat them with the requisite dignity and respect. He clearly exploited their emotional and financial dependencies on him,” the prosecution added.