Company director fined for collecting $112k in kickbacks from migrant workers, Singapore News
Loo Kim Huat, a 68-year-old Singaporean, was fined $90,000 and a penalty order of $42,000 on Thursday (July 24) after pleading guilty to six charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA).
Twelve other charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in a press release.
The ministry said Loo was the director and group head for conservancy at WIS Holdings, which manages Weishen Industrial Services — a company that provides estate cleaning and maintenance services for town councils.
He had conspired with four individuals, which included Lim Choong Seng, a former site manager at Weishen, two conservancy workers, Kabir Mohammad Humayun and Robel, and Kamaruzzaman, an employment agent based in Bangladesh.
In 2020, Loo and the four individuals collected amounts ranging from $900 to $7,000 from 18 workers of Weishen as a condition for renewing their work passes.
Loo and Lim would provide positive feedback to Weishen's human resources department for only the foreign employees who had paid the kickbacks and help get their work passes renewed, reported The Straits Times.
MOM said that Loo has paid a total of $83,050 as restitution to the affected migrant workers.
Of the 18 workers who were affected, nine have returned home, while the remaining nine are working in Singapore, with three employed at Weishen.
Lim was convicted in August 2024 and was sentenced to a fine of $84,000 while Kabir's case is still pending before the court, said MOM.
"Collecting employment kickbacks from migrant workers is a serious offence, and the Ministry of Manpower will not hesitate to take enforcement action against such unlawful acts," the ministry said.
Those convicted will face a fine of up to $30,000, a jail term of up to two years, or both.
Migrant workers who suspect that they are being asked to give kickbacks can seek help by calling MOM at 6438 5122 or the Migrant Workers' Centre at 6536 2692.
The ministry also urged members of the public who are aware of suspicious employment activities, or who know of persons who contravene the EFMA, to report the matter via MOM's website.
All information will be kept strictly confidential, it said.
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dana.leong@asiaone.com
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