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Singapore Law Watch
4 days ago
- Business
- Singapore Law Watch
Fine for company director who played role in collecting $112k in kickbacks from migrant workers
Fine for company director who played role in collecting $112k in kickbacks from migrant workers Source: Straits Times Article Date: 25 Jul 2025 Author: Samuel Devaraj A company director has been fined after he admitted to playing a role in collecting $112,400 in kickbacks from migrant workers as a condition for renewing their work passes in December 2020. A company director has been fined after he admitted to playing a role in collecting $112,400 in kickbacks from migrant workers as a condition for renewing their work passes in December 2020. On July 24, Loo Kim Huat was fined $90,000 and also ordered to pay a penalty of $42,000, after he pleaded guilty to six charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Another 12 similar charges were taken into consideration during sentencing. According to a press release from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Loo, 68, was the director and group head of conservancy at WIS Holdings, which manages Weishen Industrial Services, a company providing estate cleaning and maintenance services for town councils. He had conspired with four others in the collection of kickbacks from 18 employees of Weishen as a condition for renewing their work passes. The illicit payments ranged from $900 to $7,000 for each worker. His four co-conspirators were Lim Choong Seng, a former site manager at Weishen; conservancy workers Kabir Mohammad Humayun and Robel; and Kamaruzzaman, an employment agent based in Bangladesh. According to court documents, the 18 foreign employees were primarily conservancy workers deployed to perform estate cleaning and maintenance services for town councils. The scheme which had been ongoing for four to five years before December 2020 originated from Kamaruzzaman, who was responsible for bringing in Bangladeshi nationals to work in Singapore at Weishen. Kamaruzzaman instructed Lim, Kabir, Robel and Kamaruzzaman's relatives in Singapore to collect the employment kickbacks from foreign employees whose work permits were applied for under Weishen. After the employment kickback monies were collected by Kabir and Robel, they would be handed to Lim, and then to Loo. Loo, who was Lim's direct superior, would pay Lim $300 for every kickback collected from each foreign employee. Loo and Lim would decide which foreign workers' work passes to renew, providing positive feedback to Weishen's human resources department for only the foreign employees who had paid the kickbacks. After receiving information on possible contravention of the laws under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, MOM employment inspectors carried out investigations into Weishen on Dec 8, 2020. MOM said Lim was convicted in August 2024 and fined $84,000 while Kabir's case is still pending before the court. According to court documents, Robel remains at large. An MOM prosecutor told the court on July 24 that Kamaruzzaman, who operated from Bangladesh, remained outside of Singapore's jurisdiction the last time the ministry checked. Loo has paid a total of $83,050 as restitution to the affected migrant workers. Nine of the workers have returned home; the other nine are working in Singapore, with three employed at Weishen, MOM said. Those who are found to have collected kickbacks can be jailed for up to two years, fined up to $30,000, or both. Migrant workers who suspect that they are being asked to give kickbacks can seek help by calling MOM at 6438-5122, or the Migrant Workers' Centre at 6536-2692. MOM said members of the public who are aware of suspicious employment activities, or know of people or employers who contravene the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, should report the matter to the ministry on its website. All information will be kept strictly confidential, it said. An anonymous complaint led to 24 weeks' jail for a former operations manager of a conservancy company, who oversaw estate cleaners in Nee Soon East and Pasir Ris-Punggol. Derrick Ho had collected $396,440 from 57 Bangladeshi workers from 2014 to 2020 for the renewal of their work permits, in one of the largest cases of kickbacks that MOM has investigated to date. He was sentenced in November 2024. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
AsiaOne
5 days ago
- Business
- AsiaOne
Company director fined for collecting $112k in kickbacks from migrant workers, Singapore News
A company director has been convicted for his involvement in a scheme that collected a total of $112,400 in kickbacks from migrant workers in December 2020. Loo Kim Huat, a 68-year-old Singaporean, was fined $90,000 and a penalty order of $42,000 on Thursday (July 24) after pleading guilty to six charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA). Twelve other charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in a press release. The ministry said Loo was the director and group head for conservancy at WIS Holdings, which manages Weishen Industrial Services — a company that provides estate cleaning and maintenance services for town councils. He had conspired with four individuals, which included Lim Choong Seng, a former site manager at Weishen, two conservancy workers, Kabir Mohammad Humayun and Robel, and Kamaruzzaman, an employment agent based in Bangladesh. In 2020, Loo and the four individuals collected amounts ranging from $900 to $7,000 from 18 workers of Weishen as a condition for renewing their work passes. Loo and Lim would provide positive feedback to Weishen's human resources department for only the foreign employees who had paid the kickbacks and help get their work passes renewed, reported The Straits Times. MOM said that Loo has paid a total of $83,050 as restitution to the affected migrant workers. Of the 18 workers who were affected, nine have returned home, while the remaining nine are working in Singapore, with three employed at Weishen. Lim was convicted in August 2024 and was sentenced to a fine of $84,000 while Kabir's case is still pending before the court, said MOM. "Collecting employment kickbacks from migrant workers is a serious offence, and the Ministry of Manpower will not hesitate to take enforcement action against such unlawful acts," the ministry said. Those convicted will face a fine of up to $30,000, a jail term of up to two years, or both. Migrant workers who suspect that they are being asked to give kickbacks can seek help by calling MOM at 6438 5122 or the Migrant Workers' Centre at 6536 2692. The ministry also urged members of the public who are aware of suspicious employment activities, or who know of persons who contravene the EFMA, to report the matter via MOM's website. All information will be kept strictly confidential, it said. [[nid:720463]]
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Fine for company director who played role in collecting $112k in kickbacks from migrant workers
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Loo Kim Huat has paid a total of $83,050 as restitution to the affected migrant workers. SINGAPORE - A company director has been fined after he admitted to playing a role in collecting $112,400 in kickbacks from migrant workers as a condition for renewing their work passes in December 2020. On July 24, Loo Kim Huat was sentenced to a fine of $90,000 and also ordered to pay a penalty order of $42,000, after he pleaded guilty to six charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Another 12 similar charges were taken into consideration sentencing. According to a press release from the Ministry of Manpower, Loo, 68, was the director and group head of conservancy at WIS Holdings, which manages Weishen Industrial Services, a company providing estate cleaning and maintenance services for town councils. He had conspired with four others in the collection of kickbacks from 18 employees of Weishen as a condition for the renewal of their work passes. The illicit payments ranged from $900 to $7,000 for each worker. His four co-conspirators were: Lim Choong Seng, a former site manager at Weishen; conservancy workers Kabir Mohammad Humayun and Robel; and Kamaruzzaman, an employment agent based in Bangladesh. According to court documents, the 18 foreign employees were primarily conservancy workers deployed to perform estate cleaning and maintenance services for town councils. The scheme which had been ongoing four to five years before December 2020 originated from Kamaruzzaman, who was responsible for bringing in Bangladeshi nationals to work in Singapore at Weishen. Kamaruzzaman instructed Lim, Kabir, Robel and Kamaruzzaman's relatives in Singapore to collect the employment kickbacks from foreign employees whose work permits were applied under Weishen. After the employment kickback monies were collected from Kabir and Robel, they would be handed to Lim, and then to Loo. Loo, who was Lim's direct superior, would pay Lim $300 for every employment kickback amount collected from each foreign employee. Loo and Lim would decide which foreign workers' work passes to renew, providing positive feedback to Weishen's HR department for only the foreign employees who had paid the kickbacks. After receiving information on possible contravention of the laws under Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, MOM employment inspectors carried out investigations into Weishen on Dec 8, 2020. MOM said Lim was convicted in August 2024 and was sentenced to a fine of $84,000 while Kabir's case is still pending before the court. According to court documents, Robel remains at large. An MOM prosecutor told the court on July 24 that Kamaruzzaman, who operated from Bangladesh, remained outside of Singapore's jurisdiction the last time the ministry checked. Loo has paid a total of $83,050 as restitution to the affected migrant workers. Nine of the workers have returned home; the other nine are working in Singapore, with three employed at Weishen, MOM said. Those who are found to have collected kickbacks can be jailed for up to two years, fined up to $30,000, or both. Migrant workers who suspect that they are being asked to give kickbacks can seek help by calling MOM at 6438-5122, or the Migrant Workers' Centre at 6536-2692. MOM said members of the public who are aware of suspicious employment activities, or know of persons or employers who contravene the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, should report the matter to the ministry on its website . All information will be kept strictly confidential, it said. An anonymous complaint led to 24 weeks' jail for a former operations manager of a conservancy company, who oversaw estate cleaners in Nee Soon East and Pasir Ris-Punggol. Derrick Ho had collected $396,440 from 57 Bangladeshi workers from 2014 to 2020 for the renewal of their work permits, in one of the largest cases of kickbacks that MOM has investigated to date. He was sentenced in November 2024.
