Employment agency admits ‘selling’ maids on Carousell
An employment agency has been convicted of "selling" maids on online marketplace Carousell, advertising them as if they were merchandise.
SRC Recruitment, located in LTC Building B at MacPherson, had posted photos of the foreign domestic workers (FDWs) from Indonesia along with a price column, and would label them with terms such as "reserved", "condition - new" and "sold".
The agency pleaded guilty and was convicted on 45 of 144 charges under the Employment Agencies Act yesterday.
Another 99 charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing next month.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) began investigations on Sept 17 last year.
The investigation officer found Erleena Mohd Ali, 41, an employee of the company since June 2017, had started an account on Carousell under the username "maid.recruitment" in August last year.
She sought and received permission from Mr Koh Seng Yeow, SRC's key appointment holder, to post the biodata of the available FDWs on the platform for potential employers.
The posts contained details that would cast them in a manner akin to a commodity that could be bought and sold.
These included a price list and the changing of their status to "sold" when they had been selected.
Investigations by MOM found there were 16 FDWs advertised by SRC in such a manner from Sept 1 to Sept 17 last year.
The agency had also failed to ensure its full name and licence number were stated when it advertised for 15 FDWs, a requirement under the Employment Agency Licence Conditions.
SRC's employment licence was suspended in September last year.
Carousell, which prohibits the listing of human beings, had also removed the postings.
Erleena was fined $20,000 in November last year after she pleaded guilty to 10 charges under the Employment Agencies Act. She no longer works for the firm.
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