MOM arrests four people for employment-related offences over ‘phantom workers’
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MOM said that another 21 individuals are assisting in the investigation.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
SINGAPORE – Four people were arrested on Sept 2 by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for suspected employment-related offences over “phantom workers”.
The four, two company directors and two company staff from the construction sector, are being investigated for suspected offences such as making false declarations and collecting employment-related kickbacks, said the MOM in a press release on Sept 4.
The directors are alleged to have made fraudulent Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions to locals who are not under their employment, or “phantom workers”.
By doing so, they can inflate the foreign worker quotas of their companies and thereafter bring in more migrant workers, said the MOM.
The ministry also said that another 21 individuals are assisting in the investigation.
Making false declarations in work pass applications carries a fine of up to $20,000, a jail term of up to two years, or both.
Those convicted may also be barred from employing foreign workers.
People who collude with companies by providing their particulars for fraudulent CPF contributions to inflate foreign worker quotas may also be prosecuted and punished with the same sentence.
The collection of employment-related kickbacks is an offence punishable with a fine of up to $30,000, an imprisonment term of up to two years, or both.
The MOM reminds the public not to accept CPF contributions from businesses they are not working for, as they may be guilty of aiding in false declaration offences.
Anyone who is aware of such activities should report them to the MOM’s eService under “Report an infringement”, added the ministry.
