Singaporean man jailed, fined for subletting apartment to overstayer who provided sexual services
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Ong Ee Meng, 39, was sentenced to four weeks' jail and fined $16,000 for offences under the Immigration Act and Women's Charter, on Aug 20, 2018. His tenant, Liu Hui, 43, has been dealt with for her overstaying offence, and has since been repatriated.
PHOTO: IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
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SINGAPORE - A 39-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to four weeks' jail and fined $16,000 for offences under the Immigration Act and Women's Charter on Aug 20.
Ong Ee Meng sublet an apartment unit to a Chinese woman and overstayer despite knowing that she would be staying and using the premises to provide sexual services, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Wednesday.
The woman, Liu Hui, 43, has been dealt with for her overstaying offence, and has since been repatriated.
She arrived in Singapore on March 11 this year to work as a performing artiste but decided to be a freelance masseuse instead. After her visit pass expired on March 25, she stayed on to work in Singapore illegally.
She was arrested on April 26 in an apartment unit sublet to her by Ong. Ong was also arrested for harbouring her.
He claimed that Liu told him she was in Singapore on a two-year singer's permit, but he did not ask her for her work pass or passport for verification. Liu had overstayed for 32 days at that time. He also admitted to knowing that she used the premises for sexual services and that he had engaged her services as well.
For failing to conduct any due diligence checks, Ong committed an offence for recklessly harbouring an immigration offender.
The ICA reminded members of the public to exercise due diligence in checking the status of their prospective foreign tenants to ensure that their status in Singapore is legal.
Before renting or subletting apartments to foreign tenants, the ICA said that one should check the tenant's original immigration or work pass, and check their particulars against their pass as well as against their original passport. They should also check the validity of their pass with the authorities.
Those found guilty of recklessly harbouring overstayers or illegal immigrants may be sentenced to a jail term between six months and two years, and a fine not exceeding $6,000. Those found to be guilty of doing so negligently can be sentenced to up to a year's jail or fined a maximum of $6,000 or both.
