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http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2008/yax-962.htm
Fly yourself home or be caned
Xue Hanming receiving an unexpected phone call from Chen Yuguang, who was calling from the ICA where he was being held.
Halfway through Yawning Bread's interview, Xue Hanming received a call from Chen Yuguang on his handphone. Chen and Xue Chengming had by then been dumped by the police onto the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Chen was calling from an ICA landline (his cellphone having been seized). He was under pressure from the ICA to find the money to buy his air ticket home, and appealing to his friends for help.
Xue passed the phone to someone from TWC2 who was also present. This person advised Chen to state his situation and rights to the ICA calmly: "Tell them, without rudeness, that you are in an unresolved dispute with your employer and that the Ministry of Manpower is looking into the matter and so you should have a special pass to stay on. Also tell them that it should be the employer who has to bear the cost of the air ticket for any repatriation when it is due."
But why was Chen Yuguang and Xue Chengming looking to buy their own air tickets home? you should ask. After all, as explained by the TWC2 guy, the rule is that employers are responsible for paying for that. All workers in Singapore know that.
My guess is that the ICA were threatening them with imprisonment and caning -– these being the penalties for illegal overstaying -– and pressuring him to accept an injustice.
Fly yourself home or be caned
Xue Hanming receiving an unexpected phone call from Chen Yuguang, who was calling from the ICA where he was being held.
Halfway through Yawning Bread's interview, Xue Hanming received a call from Chen Yuguang on his handphone. Chen and Xue Chengming had by then been dumped by the police onto the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Chen was calling from an ICA landline (his cellphone having been seized). He was under pressure from the ICA to find the money to buy his air ticket home, and appealing to his friends for help.
Xue passed the phone to someone from TWC2 who was also present. This person advised Chen to state his situation and rights to the ICA calmly: "Tell them, without rudeness, that you are in an unresolved dispute with your employer and that the Ministry of Manpower is looking into the matter and so you should have a special pass to stay on. Also tell them that it should be the employer who has to bear the cost of the air ticket for any repatriation when it is due."
But why was Chen Yuguang and Xue Chengming looking to buy their own air tickets home? you should ask. After all, as explained by the TWC2 guy, the rule is that employers are responsible for paying for that. All workers in Singapore know that.
My guess is that the ICA were threatening them with imprisonment and caning -– these being the penalties for illegal overstaying -– and pressuring him to accept an injustice.
