Man faces 85 charges under Employment of Foreign Manpower Act

SINGAPORE : The owner of a construction company, F & I Engineering & Services, has been charged with 85 counts of offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA).

Umarul Farouk Mohamed Ibrahim, 29, allegedly committed the offences from 27 August 2010 to 24 August 2011.

Umarul Farouk allegedly falsely declared the number of local employees he hired to inflate his company’s foreign worker entitlement.

He also allegedly falsely declared in his Work Permit applications that 46 foreign employees would be working for him as construction workers when he had no intention of employing them.

Umarul Farouk was also charged with recovering levies and receiving prohibited payments as consideration for employment from his foreign employees.

He allegedly collected monies from the 46 foreign employees he brought in between 1 November 2010 and 30 November 2011.

Each foreign employee paid monthly sums of money ranging from S$450 to S$520. From the amount collected, S$380 went towards the payment of foreign worker levies and Umarul Farouk allegedly pocketed the rest.

The penalties under the EFMA were increased in November 2012.

Under the revised EFMA, offenders who are found guilty of making false declarations to the Ministry of Manpower can be fined up to S$20,000 or jailed up to 24 months, or both.

Taking monies from foreign employees as consideration for employment is now a new standalone criminal offence.

Offenders can be fined up to S$30,000, or be jailed up to two years, or both.

The case will be heard again on February 14.

— CNA/ms