Jail and fine for man who lied in work pass application for maid, collected money from her
An employer lied in a work pass application to allow a Filipina to remain in Singapore to find work outside of his residence and collected more than $9,000 from her.
Hafizuddin Jaafar, 34, was on Friday (Feb 11) sentenced to six weeks' jail for making a false declaration in a work permit application for a migrant domestic worker.
The Singaporean was also fined $50,750 for collecting money from the maid to apply for the work permit, but will instead spend an additional 14 weeks in jail, as he is unable to pay the amount.
He was also ordered to pay $1,700 to the court, being part of the money he collected from the maid.
She was earlier issued a stern warning for making a false declaration in her work permit application, and repatriated and barred from working in Singapore.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) issued on Friday, investigations found that Hafizuddin lied in a work permit application on Jan 8, 2018, to employ a 36-year-old Filipina as a maid at his residence.
He did so to allow her the remain here to find work elsewhere. Neither of them had the intention that she would work for Hafizuddin, said MOM, which did not mention his occupation.
On Jan 23, 2019, he applied to renew her work permit and the application was granted on the basis that she would be employed by Hafizuddin.
In exchange for the successful application and renewed work pass, he received $9,380 from her between January 2018 to February 2020, during which time she did not do any work for him or live in his home.
The ministry warned that all employers and work pass applicants must make accurate, complete and truthful declarations during work pass applications.
Migrant domestic workers are allowed to perform household and domestic duties only for the official employer at the residential address that is stated on the work permit card.
Those who lie in their declaration can face a maximum punishment of $20,000 and be jailed for two years.
Errant employers will have their work pass privileges suspended and the work pass applicant will also be permanently barred from working here.
Those who unlawfully collect payment for such arrangements can be fined up to $30,000 and jailed for up to two years.
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