Cupcake chain admits to underpaying staff
Home-grown chain, now owned by Indian firm, underpaid 7 foreign workers for 2 years
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Twelve Cupcakes was founded by radio DJ Daniel Ong and former model Jaime Teo in 2011 and was acquired for $2.5 million by Kolkata-based Dhunseri Group in 2016. The company yesterday pleaded guilty to 15 counts of underpaying seven foreign employees in 2017 and 2018. Fourteen other similar charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing, which is expected to take place on Jan 7.
ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID
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For nearly two years, home-grown cupcake chain Twelve Cupcakes underpaid seven of its foreign employees, even short-changing one worker by about half the wages at times.
The company yesterday pleaded guilty to 15 counts of underpaying the employees in 2017 and 2018.
Fourteen other similar charges will be taken into consideration by District Judge Adam Nakhoda during sentencing, which is expected to take place on Jan 7.
Twelve Cupcakes was founded by radio DJ Daniel Ong and former model Jaime Teo in 2011 and was acquired for $2.5 million by Kolkata-based Dhunseri Group in 2016.
Court documents state that all seven employees were S-Pass holders at the time of the offences.
It is not stated if they are still working for the company.
While their fixed monthly salaries ranged from $2,200 to $2,600, they were instead paid about $1,400 to $2,050 by the company.
The court heard that Twelve Cupcakes underpaid six of the employees - who were in customer service and sales roles - their salaries for the period between December 2016 and September 2018.
One of these six workers was also underpaid the October and November 2018 wages.
The company also paid less than the fixed monthly salary - for the period between January 2017 and September 2018 - due to the remaining employee, a pastry chef.
Twelve Cupcakes had initially credited the reduced salaries to the employees' bank accounts.
But they later changed tactics, paying the workers their full salary from May 2018, but then telling the employees that they had to return a portion to the company in cash.
Twelve Cupcakes had done so to conceal a paper trail of its offences, said Ministry of Manpower prosecutor Maximilian Chew, urging the court to impose a fine of $127,000.
He said that Twelve Cupcakes would have continued underpaying the employees if the offences had not been discovered.
The prosecutor also said that Singapore is heavily reliant on foreign employees in many sectors, including the food and beverage industry.
There was therefore "enormous public interest" in holding companies accountable for their welfare, including paying their salaries fully and promptly, he added.
Defence lawyer Selvarajan Balamurugan said in mitigation that his client had made full restitution to the employees even before court proceedings started.
For each offence involving underpaying its foreign employees, a company may be fined up to $10,000.
