Woman fined for submitting illegal work pass applications

SINGAPORE: A 56—year—old Singaporean and the sole proprietor of Sunlight Employment Agency, was convicted on Tuesday for making work pass applications on behalf of an unlicensed employment agent.

Tay Lian Huay is the first person to be convicted of such an offence since the revised Employment Agencies Act (EAA) came into effect in April 2011.

Tay pleaded guilty in the Subordinate Courts to one charge of making a work pass application on behalf of one De Luna Noriza Dancel.

Another 15 charges were taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing.

Tay was fined S$30,000 in default to one month’s imprisonment.

The court heard that Noriza approached Tay for help in submitting 16 work pass applications from 25 August 2011 to 27 October 2011 using Tay’s access to the Ministry of Manpower’s work pass application system.

Tay was paid S$200 for every successful application made and S$30 for every unsuccessful application.

Noriza has already been dealt with under the Act for operating employment agency (EA) without a licence.

She was fined S$50,000 in default to 20 days’ imprisonment on 31 January 2012.

Under the EAA, it is an offence for any EA personnel of a licensee to submit a work pass application to the Controller of Work Passes on behalf of any person who has not obtained an EA licence.

Those convicted face a fine not exceeding S$80,000 or a jail term not exceeding two years or to both.

In addition, the errant EA will have its licence revoked. An EA which has its licence revoked will also be barred from operating an EA in future.

— CNA/ck