SINGAPORE - A 45-year-old man was on Tuesday (Dec 27) fined $30,000 in default of eight weeks' imprisonment for conducting employment agency activities without a valid licence.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) charged Mohamed Yasin Hameed Sultan in the State Courts on Tuesday and he has also been barred from holding an employment agency licence.

Investigations showed that Yasin had distributed pamphlets and advertisements, and facilitated job placement overseas between November 2014 and May 2015, MOM said in a press release on Tuesday.

Three foreign workers had engaged him to secure employment in Canada, drawn by the pamphlets' descriptions of non-existent jobs that paid thousands of dollars.

Yasin also collected their biodata for job migration.

MOM said that it "will not hesitate to prosecute offenders to protect the interests of employers and workers".

Those convicted of performing employment agency activities without a valid licence can be fined up to $80,000 and or jailed not more than two years.

It is also an offence to engage the services of an unlicensed employment agency and those convicted can be fined up to $5,000 per charge.

MOM advised jobseekers to use only MOM-licensed employment agencies, which can be verified through the employment agency directory at www.mom.gov.sg/eadirectory.

If you have information on unlicensed employment agency activities, report it to MOM at mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg or call 6438-5122.

All information will be kept strictly confidential.