A China construction company was fined a total of $8,000 on Thursday for failing to pay workers' salaries on time.

A representative of Zhong Jiang (Singapore) International admitted to eight charges under the Employment Act involving three construction workers. Another 17 similar charges involving seven workers were taken into consideration.

The company has since paid all the workers their salaries totalling $44,421. Zhong Jiang made news on Dec 6 when two of its construction workers, Zhu Guilei, 24, and Wu Xiaolin, 47, climbed atop two tower cranes in Jurong, claiming that their employer had withheld their salaries and intended to make unauthorised deductions from their salaries.

But investigation showed their case was unsubstantiated. Both men have since served their four-week jail sentence each.

Pleading for leniency, the company representative told the court that the company had learnt their lesson and had since been paying salaries to workers on time. The maximum penalty is a $5,000 fine and six months' jail on each charge.