{"id":63462,"date":"2026-06-24T21:26:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=63462"},"modified":"2026-06-24T21:26:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:26:01","slug":"workers-from-third-firm-claim-unpaid-wages-all-three-firms-share-a-director-who-has-left-spore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=63462","title":{"rendered":"Workers from third firm claim unpaid wages; all three firms share a director who has left S\u2019pore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE &#8211; <!-- -->Several workers from VVR Plant Engineering are now alerting authorities to claims of unpaid wages &#8211; the third firm linked to a permanent resident company director who is said to have left Singapore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Islam Md Rafiul, a 20-year-old Bangladeshi national, said he has not been paid for three months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Speaking to The Straits Times at the Tuas View Dormitory on June 24, Islam said he moved to Singapore about six months ago and was hired by the general contractor company located in Pandan Loop and paid $800 a month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He added: \u201cI sent home about $500 to $600 to my family. The last three months, I did not receive my salary and could not send money back to Bangladesh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cI\u2019m supporting my family, and I\u2019m afraid to let my family know what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Islam was among<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/community\/40-firms-offer-jobs-to-about-400-workers-affected-by-unpaid-salaries-linked-to-air-con-company?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\"> some 400 migrant workers at Tuas View Dormitory who met NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng,<\/span><\/a> representatives of the Migrant Workers\u2019 Centre (MWC) and Minister of State for Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The workers,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/courts-crime\/number-of-workers-with-claims-of-unpaid-wages-linked-to-air-con-firm-climbs-to-400?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\"> many of whom are employed by KPA Engineering, a company that provides air-con maintenance services, and its related firm SK Industries,<\/span><\/a> had raised issues around unpaid wages and their living arrangements.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"More than 100 workers show up at MOM claiming unpaid wages\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/S4HmLGCSsQE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Ng said the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management and tripartite partners are working to contact the employers involved in the case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">VVR Plant Engineering, SK Industries and KPA Engineering have one common director &#8211; Indian national Ramu Palani Velu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Checks on corporate intelligence platform\u00a0Sayari show that Ramu is a director of seven companies here in total. The firms are listed as providing air con, plumbing and building services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">ST on June 23 visited his registered address in a private estate in Hillview and learnt that the unit has been rented out to foreigners for the past two years. It is currently being rented out to a doctor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">A security guard at the condo said several creditors have been turning up at the estate in recent months with claims of unpaid loans and defaults on payments. They were refused access to the condominium unit leased by the doctor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Ramu previously registered his businesses to a flat in Marine Crescent, where a lawyer\u2019s letter addressed to him was placed at the front door.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">ST has made multiple attempts to contact Ramu on the phone, his homes and at the addresses where his firms were located but he has not responded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Ramu took over VVR Plant Engineering, formerly called VMD Integrated, in 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The company was previously owned by Indian nationals Ravi Victor and Ravi Vijayarani, and their Singaporean son, Ravi Martin Abraham.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Martin, 23, told ST that the family was introduced to Ramu by a third party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cEven my father is not sure who Ramu is. We had a family crisis and needed to sell the company. My father\u2019s friend introduced Ramu,\u201d said Martin, who was speaking from his flat in Clementi.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cWhen we were selling the company to him, he said he didn\u2019t need the workers. We had 15 to 20 workers then.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Unpaid migrant workers on how their plight has affected their families\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i05op3Hc4QI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cI\u2019m not sure how much my dad sold the company but it was not for a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The family had been looking to sell the company, which was valued for having access to Work Permits for the specialised process sector.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Such permits allow for process construction and maintenance works at locations such as Jurong Island.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Martin said: \u201cIt is not easy to obtain the permit for new companies so we thought he bought our family business for that reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He added that they have not been in contact with Ramu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Checks by ST showed the PR started his first business in 2014 &#8211; KPA Engineering. It was last recorded as having $1 million in capital.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Sundaramoorthy Komathy served as a company director with Ramu between 2016 and 2018. After he left, Krishnamurthy Sundaramoorthy became a director in 2020.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He remains an active director. Both Indian nationals had registered the same address in the business listing &#8211; an apartment in Hillview. ST visited the unit and found a tenant who said he has been renting the unit for two years.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"40 firms offer jobs to about 150 migrant workers affected by unpaid salaries\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kajV0Dlh7nc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Sam (not his real name), who was hired by KPA Engineering, said the workers knew Ramu as the big boss but the day-to-day operations were handled by an Indian national named Moorthy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cWe have been trying to contact Moorthy but he has not responded,\u201d added Sam.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In 2019, Ramu incorporated Comfort Air Engineering, formerly called Velmurugan Trading, with a registsred capital of $100,000. He is the sole director.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He then registered SK Industries with $200,000 capital in 2023 as sole director, with Sundaramoorthy Komathy as a shareholder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In 2025, Ramu registered three companies in one day. They are KMS Integrated, GM Integrated and HVS Industries. He is the sole director.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">KMS was registered with $100,000 in capital, and GM and HVS had $10,000 each.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had indicated that they are investigating KPA Engineering and SK Industries for possible breaches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">ST has contacted MOM to check if other companies linked to the firms are being investigated, and the total number of migrant workers employed by the seven companies linked to Ramu.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-list-container\" data-testid=\"bulleted-article-list-test-id\">\n<ul class=\"pl-22 list-disc article-list-wrapper\">\n<li class=\"article-list-item list-item\" data-testid=\"bulleted-article-list-item-test-id\">\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Additional reporting by Jemima Ryan and Emily Koh<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/courts-crime\/workers-from-third-firm-claim-unpaid-wages-all-three-firms-share-a-director-who-has-left-spore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE &#8211; Several workers from VVR Plant Engineering are now alerting authorities to claims of unpaid wages &#8211; the third firm linked to a permanent&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/63465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}