Employer charged with collecting kickbacks from 20 foreign workers

SINGAPORE — A managing director of a firm was charged in court yesterday with receiving more than S$105,000 from 20 of his foreign workers, as a condition for their continued employment with the company.

Ng Boon Cheng, 55, from Lian Lee Wooden Case Maker Co Pte Ltd, was charged with 20 counts of receiving kickbacks from the workers, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a press statement.

The offences allegedly took place between January 2011 and October 2015, when Ng allowed the firm to deduct various sums of money from the workers’ pay, with the promise to keep them hired.

The collection of kickbacks or other benefits, as a condition or financial guarantee of employment, is prohibited under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, the ministry said.

In a case last April, the managing director of Sheng Yu Construction Builders Pte Ltd was fined S$169,000 in default of three months’ jail for receiving kickbacks from foreign workers. Four months after that, a night-club owner was jailed four months and fined S$35,000 for the same offence.

Commenting on the latest case, Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, chairman of the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC), said the centre has come across a number of such incidents and had reported them to the authorities.

He said: “The collection of kickbacks from workers who do not earn much and work very hard in order to support their families back home is exploitative and must not be condoned.”

He also reminded employers that it is illegal to get migrant workers to pay money — whether in cash or through deductions of wages — in return for applying or renewing the workers’ work permits, or any other employment benefit or opportunity. “We urge our authorities to impose a strong deterrent sentence upon any conviction for collection of kickbacks. This will send a clear signal of our society’s abhorrence of such malpractices,” Mr Yeo said.

If convicted, Ng may be fined up to S$30,000 or jailed up to two years, or both, per offence. The MOM may also permanently ban him from hiring foreign workers.

His case will be heard on Nov 8.

Workers who are pressured to pay money to keep their jobs, or face other employment issues that they cannot resolve with their employers, should call the MOM at 6438 5122 or MWC’s 24-hour helpline at 6536 2692.

Those who know of persons or employers who contravene the Act should report them to the MOM by phone or email (mom_fmmd [at] mom.gov.sg). All information will be kept confidential.