Two Singaporeans, employment agency charged over false work pass declarations and kickbacks

Hu, meanwhile, is accused of abetting Wonderful in falsely declaring that a migrant worker would be employed as a food processing worker when the worker was in fact deployed as a masseuse. 

She also faces a charge for allegedly obtaining a S$500 kickback from the worker as a condition for employment.

The Non-Traditional Source Occupation List scheme allows eligible employers in the services and manufacturing sectors to hire work permit holders from non-traditional source countries for certain roles.

Zhao faces 12 charges for false declarations of employment and two charges for false declarations of salary.

Wonderful Agency was charged with 12 counts of making false declarations of employment and two counts of making false declarations of salary in work pass applications.

Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, making false declarations in relation to work pass applications carries a penalty of up to S$20,000 in fines, up to two years’ imprisonment, or both. Convicted individuals and entities may also be barred from employing foreign workers.

The offence of collecting kickbacks carries a fine of up to S$30,000, a jail term of up to two years, or both.

“All employment agencies and employers are required to make accurate, complete and truthful declarations to the Controller of Work Passes in their work pass applications,” MOM said.

“Making false declarations is a serious offence as it undermines the integrity of MOM’s work pass framework and may expose vulnerable workers to exploitation.”