A FORMER food-stall proprietor, who was fined for lying to get employment passes for five foreign cooks, was spared going to prison after the High Court threw out a prosecution appeal on Thursday.

In the lower court in August, Ministry of Manpower's prosecutors had fought hard, but unsuccessfully, for Ms Celine Tan Bee Thin, 51, to be jailed.

The Attorney-General Chambers then picked up the cudgel and at the appeal hearing Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong argued that employers who over-declare salaries of workers to qualify for employment passes should be jailed - just like employees who submit false educational qualifications.

When he claimed that District Judge Jasbendar Kaur had no logical basis to distinguish between the two offences, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong pointed out that when an employer lies about his qualifications, he deceives two parties - his employer and the State - while a false declaration by an employer about salary only deceives the State.

The CJ added: 'You are not specifying whether the offence is an economic offence, a deception of the State, or it undermines justice'.

'You are simply saying: 'False statement, go to jail'.'

Ms Tan, 51, was the owner of Lai Lai Seafood Restaurant in Upper Aljunied Road. When she failed to get Singaporean workers as cooks, she turned to China nationals.

But she claimed that they were paid a salary of $2,510 - to meet the minimum salary requirement for an employment pass - when in fact she was paying them only $1,000 each.

When this was uncovered, she pleaded guilty. She was spared jail but was fined the maximum amount of $4,000 for each of the four offences. She could be jailed for up to 1 year on each charge.

Ms Tan, whose stall is now closed, told The Straits Times that she is examining her options.

She said: 'I'm very grateful to the judge forunderstanding what made me commit the offence. I had meant no harm.'