Migrant workers burdened with crippling debt after man demanded nearly $400K for work permit renewals
Nadine Chua
The Straits Times
November 14, 2024
A man has been jailed for 24 weeks after demanding close to $400,000 from foreign workers for the renewal of their work permits.
Derrick Ho Chiak Hock, 55, was sentenced on Nov 14 for his offences, in one of the largest cases of kickbacks investigated by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to date.
He pleaded guilty to 20 of the 61 charges he faced under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act for collecting kickbacks from 57 migrant workers on numerous occasions from 2014 to 2020. The other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
He had demanded renewal fees of $1,500 to $3,000 each from foreign workers whose monthly salaries averaged between $350 and $500.
As a result of his scheme, these workers were left in crippling debt - they had no choice but to pay the fees out of fear that their work permits would not be approved, said MOM prosecutor Mohd Fadhli.
Ho, a former operations manager of a conservancy firm, collected $396,440 from these workers so their continued employment would be considered.
On one occasion, he collected $14,000 from a foreign worker so he could be considered for employment here.
A total of $326,305 in cash was found in a safe box in Ho's home during an MOM raid on Nov 19, 2020, according to court documents.
The MOM prosecutor said that at the time of his offences, Ho was the operations manager of Lian Cheng Contracting, which was the subcontractor for the Nee Soon and Pasir Ris-Punggol town councils.
As the operations manager, he was in charge of maintenance of Housing Board estates and managed conservancy workers under his firm.
The scheme was first devised in 2014 by Ho and his former colleague, referred to in court documents only as Rakibul.
The pair agreed to collect renewal fees of $1,500 to $3,000 from each worker as a consideration for his continued employment in Lian Cheng Contracting.
The pair agreed that for every $1,500 collected for one-year renewals, Ho would take a cut of $1,000, and for every $3,000 collected for two-year renewals, he would take a cut of $2,000.
Rakibul would then keep the remaining $500 or $1,000.
In 2018, Ho roped in another site supervisor, identified in court documents as Shamim, to assist in the collection of renewal fees as Rakibul had left Singapore.
In 2020, Ho sought the assistance of two other workers, Dhar Newton and Ahamed Rana, under his charge to demand renewal fees from other foreign workers.
Investigations revealed that Shamim, Newton and Rana agreed to collect the renewal fees as they were also subjected to such fees by Ho.
The prosecution said the collection of renewal fees was unsanctioned by Lian Cheng Contracting or its management, and Ho had acted of his own accord in implementing these collections.
MOM said in a statement that Rakibul, Shamim, Newton and Rana - who held roles as area supervisors and site managers - have been warned and barred from working in Singapore.
Seeking 24 to 30 weeks' jail for Ho, the prosecution said the scheme he devised was motivated solely by greed.
"He had devised a scheme to exploit these foreign workers, by capitalising on their fear of losing their employment, by charging exorbitant fees as a condition or consideration for their continued employment," the MOM prosecutor said, noting that the sums collected far exceeded the workers' monthly salaries.
He added: "The kickbacks collected were from workers who were here to work legally to earn an honest living. These are vulnerable workers who must be protected."
In mitigation, Ho's defence lawyer Gloria James said her client is regretful for what he did and has made restitution amounting to $69,135.
Arguing for no more than 24 weeks' jail, she said Ho's family has been struggling to make ends meet, which led to Ho working as a part-time Grab driver.
She said Ho had been a loyal staff member at the company before he was suspended, adding: "He did not utilise the monies for his personal benefit or expenses. All along, he and his wife have lived a modest lifestyle."
Mr Adrian Quek, divisional director of MOM's Foreign Manpower Management Division, said the ministry will continue to take firm action against errant individuals and companies, including barring them from applying for or renewing work passes.
"We take a serious view of employers demanding payments from workers as a condition of employment, which is reprehensible and illegal," he added.
Migrant workers who suspect that they have been asked for kickbacks can seek help by calling MOM on 6438-5122 or the Migrant Workers' Centre on 6536-2692.
