This would not have happened if the Familee had not opened the floodgate to FTrash to perpetuate its own power.
<TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt22 <NOBR>
</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>1:16 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 4) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>21054.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>Kickbacks for hiring: First boss penalised
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>He deducted $300 from foreign worker's pay as condition for hiring him </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Khushwant Singh </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
A CONTRACTOR was charged yesterday with violating regulations that prohibit employers from receiving payment for hiring foreign workers - the first since the new rules were introduced last year.
Ke Koon Seng, 51, a director at Seng Systems Engineering, was fined $5,000 by a district court.
The prosecution had argued for a jail term as it said the practice of receiving kickbacks was 'abhorrent' because it increased the debt burden of foreign workers.
'These foreign employees are effectively compelled to work longer to recoup the payments they have made,' said prosecutor R. Manoj from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
However, District Judge Christopher Goh was not convinced, and said a jail term was not necessary while imposing the fine.
Ke had pleaded guilty last month to deducting $300 from a Bangladeshi worker's $1,009 salary for the month of July last year as a condition for having employed him.
Investigations revealed that Ke had made three earlier deductions amounting to $1,500 from the foreign worker's monthly salary.
The MOM had initiated checks after receiving information that Seng Systems was infringing the new law, which went into force in July last year.
Under the new regulations, employers are not allowed to receive payment as consideration for employing foreign workers, nor should they recover employment-related costs from them.
Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, employers who breach work permit conditions can be fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to six months.
They will also be barred from employing foreign workers in future.
The MOM warned that employment agencies which breach the Employment Agency licensing conditions will have their licences revoked and security deposit of $20,000 forfeited.
In an e-mail to the media after Ke's sentencing, divisional director Aw Kum Cheong of MOM's foreign manpower management division, pointed out that the successful conviction was a strong reminder to employers of the seriousness of this offence.
He said: 'This case is the first of four cases that are presently before the courts, and MOM will continue to push for stiff sentences in all kickback cases.'
Mr Aw added that the MOM was in the midst of investigating several other cases, and will adopt a zero-tolerance approach to such offences.
[email protected]
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt22 <NOBR>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>He deducted $300 from foreign worker's pay as condition for hiring him </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Khushwant Singh </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
A CONTRACTOR was charged yesterday with violating regulations that prohibit employers from receiving payment for hiring foreign workers - the first since the new rules were introduced last year.
Ke Koon Seng, 51, a director at Seng Systems Engineering, was fined $5,000 by a district court.
The prosecution had argued for a jail term as it said the practice of receiving kickbacks was 'abhorrent' because it increased the debt burden of foreign workers.
'These foreign employees are effectively compelled to work longer to recoup the payments they have made,' said prosecutor R. Manoj from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
However, District Judge Christopher Goh was not convinced, and said a jail term was not necessary while imposing the fine.
Ke had pleaded guilty last month to deducting $300 from a Bangladeshi worker's $1,009 salary for the month of July last year as a condition for having employed him.
Investigations revealed that Ke had made three earlier deductions amounting to $1,500 from the foreign worker's monthly salary.
The MOM had initiated checks after receiving information that Seng Systems was infringing the new law, which went into force in July last year.
Under the new regulations, employers are not allowed to receive payment as consideration for employing foreign workers, nor should they recover employment-related costs from them.
Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, employers who breach work permit conditions can be fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to six months.
They will also be barred from employing foreign workers in future.
The MOM warned that employment agencies which breach the Employment Agency licensing conditions will have their licences revoked and security deposit of $20,000 forfeited.
In an e-mail to the media after Ke's sentencing, divisional director Aw Kum Cheong of MOM's foreign manpower management division, pointed out that the successful conviction was a strong reminder to employers of the seriousness of this offence.
He said: 'This case is the first of four cases that are presently before the courts, and MOM will continue to push for stiff sentences in all kickback cases.'
Mr Aw added that the MOM was in the midst of investigating several other cases, and will adopt a zero-tolerance approach to such offences.
[email protected]
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