UPSET: Chinese national Li Fei claims he was promised $2,501 a month as a chef, but ended up waiting tables and getting only $800. -- ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

When he got here, however, he was put to work waiting tables. When he received a pay cheque, the 35-year-old said he was asked to repay his employer for 'living expenses', leaving him with just $800.

Feeling cheated, he filed a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower and made a police report.

What he did not know was that his case is not uncommon, and that many companies in the food and beverage industry use similar tactics to get around hiring quotas for work permit and S-pass holders.

Between January and September last year, 52 employers were prosecuted and fined between $1,500 and $5,000 for cheating the quota system. That is almost double the number of cases in 2006, according to statistics from the Ministry of Manpower.

Industry players believe the trend could be a by-product of Singapore's booming economy. Business owners, many desperate for labour, are limited in the number of low- and medium-skilled workers they can hire.

So, they offer jobs under the employment pass (EP) scheme, which is usually reserved for professionals and has no quota.

Workers hired under the EP scheme, however, must be paid more than $2,500 per month, according to MOM rules.

So once the workers get here, their duties, and pay, are downgraded.

Mr Li, who said he spent two years working in a restaurant before coming to Singapore, was one of those.

His EP listed him as a chef, but after he was paid, he said his employer asked him to return $1,700 in cash to it.

But he felt that was too much for 'living expenses': He claimed that he was housed in a small, windowless room at the back of the restaurant packed with about 20 workers.

He also alleged that his meals were sub-standard.

'We got the yellowing vegetables that they could not serve to guests, and meat, such as the duck's head, that was a day old,' said Mr Li.

When contacted by The Straits Times, Mr Li's employer denied charging the levy.

'I don't know anything about collecting money from Mr Li. Our company did not receive that money,' his employer said.

She also added that her restaurant has never charged its workers for food or lodging.

The Manpower Ministry said it is investigating.

But Mr Li's employer said she was not worried.

'If we had done anything wrong, we would have closed down by now. But we're still here,' she said.

For now, Mr Li is renting a bed in Geylang and looking for a temporary job while waiting for investigations to be completed.

'I haven't told my family

anything,' he said, sighing. 'They can't help anyway. I just said things are okay.'

simlinoi@sph.com.sg