File picture. Does not depict the restaurant in the article. By Liang Lei, based on an interview in July 2017 The raid came. Subbas was on duty that night, and he was arrested. His luck had run out. He would spend a month in jail and, tied to a medieval rack, receive three
Transient Workers Count Too came across a very interesting statement by Mr Tan Khim Long, director of KBC Engineering Pte Ltd. The company was defending a salary claim by a former employee, a Bangladeshi named Showkat, for short-payment of salary. The case was heard by the Manpower Ministry's Labour Court in late 2016 and early
By Jean Law Debesh* is going back to Bangladesh after a mere four months working in Singapore. He is leaving much poorer than if he had not come at all. This is because his money was taken from him in an illegal transaction that was not brought to justice. He tried to get the police
In an encouraging development, the prosecutor in a recent case made the argument that using the threat of dismissal and repatriation to compel foreign workers to accept lower wages would constitute an offence. According to a news story in Today newspaper, Nallusamy Narayanan, the boss of a number of companies under the Harri name, had
In 2016, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) received about 9,000 complaints from workers over salaries. These complaints related to about 4,500 employers. This was reported in the Straits Times, 6 Feb 2017, in a story reporting on questions and answers from a parliamentary sitting. Manpower minister Lim Swee Say also mentioned that in the last
As 2016 came to a close, TWC2 trawled through the website of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to see what prosecutions have been listed there through the year. MOM issues press releases whenever an employer has been sentenced in court. TWC2 found twelve mentions in MOM's website through 2016. The list is shown further down. What
Just like Islam Rafiqul's case which was told in the Straits Times last week, Sujan Ahmed too is unable to collect the Labour Court award he has been given. Sujan's employer is simply refusing to pay up and the Ministry of Manpower suggested that he should apply to the State Courts for a Writ of Seizure
By Lim Jia Ren I wove my way through the busy crowd on Dunlop Street, doubling my pace as I lugged my bag clumsily after me, hoping not to leave the first impression of being a latecomer. Being an amateur ‘reporter’ only one session old, I was still adjusting to the unfamiliar environment of our
The Straits Times reported that Ng Boon Cheng, managing director of Lian Lee Wooden Case Maker Co (above, in ST pic), was fined $60,000 on 22 November 2016 for collecting kickbacks from his foreign workers. The story came out in the newspaper's 23 November online edition. The newspaper reported that: Ng pleaded guilty to collecting
By Seema Punwani Shahidulla Md Anser Ali knew the safety rules. The job needed four men so that there would be enough eyes to watch the delicate operation from multiple angles. He was assigned only two. He tried to explain to his superior the importance of adhering to safety protocols especially as the main contractor
