Man jailed six weeks for employing, harbouring workers after permits expired
He continued to employ both men and even arranged accommodation for them when they could not find any.
A man was sentenced to six weeks' jail and fined $20,000 for continuing to employ and house two foreign workers after their work permits had expired, Shin Min Daily News reported.
The accused, Lin Wenfa (transliterated), 54, was the manager and shareholder of a company supplying cleaners and dishwashers to restaurants.
He faced seven charges including employing foreign workers without valid work permits, harbouring them, and negligent acts in the workplace.
Continued employing both workers
Court documents showed that the S Passes of the two employees were cancelled on Feb 25. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) later issued both workers one-month short-term visit passes to allow the company time to repatriate them.
Despite knowing their permits had expired, Lim continued to employ both men as plumbers and cleaners.
He later tried to reinstate their work passes, claiming the cancellations were due to the company's failure to pay the required levies.
MOM rejected the applications and told Lin to apply for new work permits for the employees instead.
However, both applications were unsuccessful. One worker did not meet the S Pass eligibility criteria, while the other application was submitted after the qualifying period had ended.
Even so, Lin continued to employ both workers and arranged accommodation for them when they could not find any.
During mitigation, Lin's lawyer said he had committed the offences to ensure his company could continue operating smoothly. He added that Lin has learned his lesson and plans to engage third-party employment agents in future to prevent similar incidents.
The prosecution noted that Lin had a prior conviction for similar offences, and urged the court to impose a heavier sentence of six to eight weeks' jail and a $20,000 fine.