2 charged over getting foreign workers to hold placards in protest at worksite
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SINGAPORE – Two Singaporeans were charged on May 27 after they allegedly got foreign workers to hold placards at a construction site and demand outstanding payment owed to a company.
Rebecca Rubini Ravinthiran, 33, who was a director at the aggrieved company Apex Engineering, was handed a total of 17 charges, while Vee Derrick Mahendran, 36, was handed 11 charges.
Rebecca was handed two charges over organising a public assembly without a permit, while Vee was given two charges for abetting her alleged offences.
Rebecca’s 15 other charges and Vee’s nine other charges were for instigating various foreign employees to break a condition in their work passes.
According to charge sheets, Rebecca allegedly organised two public assemblies at about 11am and 11.30am on Oct 24, 2024, to demand that Apex Engineering be paid the outstanding payment.
She allegedly did so by instructing six workers from Apex Engineering to gather at a construction site in Jalan Satu and hold placards, and nine workers to do the same at a construction site in Tengah Garden Walk.
Vee had allegedly aided in the preparation of placards publicising the cause the day before and coordinating with her on the gathering of workers to hold placards on the day itself.
He had also allegedly supervised the group of workers in Tengah Garden Walk on Oct 24, 2024, by updating Rebecca on his observations, and conveying her instructions to the group.
The pair will return to court on June 24 for a further mention of their case.
In a joint statement on May 26, the police and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said no further action will be taken against the workers as the police have ascertained that they were acting under the instructions of their employer, and had no intention of breaking the law.
Those found guilty of organising a public assembly or procession without a permit can be fined up to $5,000.
Anyone convicted of abetting a foreign employee to break the terms of his work pass may face a jail term of up to 12 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
In a Facebook post in October 2024, MOM said it was aware of a social media post regarding several migrant workers holding placards at a worksite.
The ministry said it engaged the workers, who shared that they were not owed salary payments, and did not have any concerns about their well-being.
