SINGAPORE: A 29-year-old Chinese national was charged on Wednesday in court with criminal trespass.
The man, Yang Wei, had trespassed into a construction site at Changi South Avenue 2 on the morning of July 4.
He then climbed to the top of a 30-metre tall crane tower to express his unhappiness over a salary dispute he had with his former employers.
The man threatened not to come down unless his demands were met.
Yang committed the act despite the fact that the dispute had already been referred to the Manpower Ministry (MOM) for resolution and the matter was being looked into.
The man was not authorised to enter the construction site.
An MOM officer who was at the scene to facilitate negotiations managed to persuade the man to come down from the crane, close to two hours later.
The man was then arrested by the police.
Bedok Police Division commander Teo Chun Ching said workers should refer their work-related disputes to the MOM for resolution instead of taking the law into their own hands.
He added such offenders who resort to unlawful and dangerous acts to advance their personal agenda would be firmly dealt with under the law.
A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for July 8.
If convicted, Yang can be jailed up to three months and fined up to S$1,500.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1139182/1/.html
