Chiang Zhi Wei , a 35-year-old director of employment agency J&Y Recruit Pte Ltd, was convicted for making false declarations in work permit applications for migrant workers. He was sentenced to a cumulative term of 11 months’ imprisonment under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA).

Following the conviction, Chiang has been permanently debarred from re-entering the employment agency industry. The employment agency licence of J&Y Recruit was suspended during investigations and was not renewed upon its expiry.

192 work permit applications for migrant workers to be employed by 6 companies

2 From April to July 2019, J&Y Recruit submitted 192 work permit applications for migrant workers to be employed by 6 companies that were unaware of the applications made on their behalf and had no intention to employ the workers. Chiang had intended to secure the workers a work permit before any other employment agency, so that he could then deploy the workers to his clients.

For every successful in-principle approval (IPA) issued by MOM, Chiang received fees from the overseas agents that oversaw the workers’ applications. Chiang received $50 per successful application, and in total, received $2,000 from these agents.

Eventually, none of the workers entered Singapore, as all 192 work permit applications were either rejected or cancelled by the 6 companies when they found out, or were revoked by MOM.

The Ministry of Manpower advised all employment agencies and employers to make accurate, complete and truthful declarations to the Controller in their work pass applications. A person who makes a declaration that was false in a work pass application, and either knew or ought to know it was false, commits an offence under the EFMA. If convicted, an offender can be fined up to $20,000, or jailed for up to two years, or both.

The Singapore Government continues to focus on work pass applications and flex its investigatory power under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Employers should be aware of the heavy enforcement environment and make sure their policies and procedures are in compliance with the work pass regulations and framework.