5 S’porean men charged for allegedly hiring foreigners under shell companies
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – Five Singaporean men were hauled to court for allegedly hiring foreigners illegally under shell companies, in exchange for a fee.
A total of 66 foreigners and 13 shell companies were named in their charges.
In a press release on July 25, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said the five men were involved in an illegal labour importation syndicate.
On July 25, the five men – Tan Tai Ji, Leong Kwai Tong, Terence Sim Kian Boon, Roy Neo Hock Guan and Cheng Tee Howe – were handed multiple charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA).
Leong, 53, faces the most number of charges in the group, with 66 counts of obtaining work passes for foreign employees for non-existent companies.
Meanwhile, Tan, 42, faces 55 counts of the same offence. Sim, 35, faces 18 charges, and Neo, 46, and Cheng, 40, were given 14 charges each.
According to their charge sheets, from 2019 to 2021, the men allegedly conspired to submit work pass applications for foreigners under the shell companies.
But in reality, these companies had no operations and did not actually employ the foreigners after they arrived in Singapore.
Court documents did not state which roles the foreigners were hired for, or how much the men received for allegedly hiring them illegally. It also did not say how the alleged offences were discovered.
Cheng faces an additional charge of rioting, over an incident outside a club at Sim Lim Tower at around midnight on June 12, 2023.
The five men’s cases will be heard again in August.
If convicted of the manpower-related offences, the men could be jailed for between six months and two years, and fined up to $6,000 per charge.
They may also be caned if they are convicted of six or more of their manpower-related charges.
MOM said it may also bar the men from employing foreign workers upon their conviction. It said that 17 of the 66 foreigners involved have also been charged for offences under the EFMA.
To date, 10 out of the 17 have been convicted and sentenced.
The ministry added that members of the public who know of suspicious employment activities, such as foreigners obtaining work passes under false pretences, should report it to the authorities.
