A Singaporean man and key appointment holder for employment agency C1EA Pte. Ltd. was convicted today for engaging in a conspiracy to make a false declaration in the work pass application for a foreign employee.

According to the Ministry of Manpower, there was also another charge against the man, Lee Peck Li for making a false statement which was also taken into consideration during sentencing. Li was sentenced to four weeks’ imprisonment under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Following the conviction, Li has been barred from the employment agency industry.

In September 2021, Li was contacted by an overseas agent to facilitate the employment of a foreign worker, Li Guiyu.

Guiyu had planned to enter Singapore to search for ‘odd jobs’. Li agreed to fraudulently obtain a work pass for Guiyu in the expectation that in future, there would be work pass application referrals from the overseas agent, from whom he would earn commissions.

Li then conspired with the overseas agent, Guiyu, and Chia Chen Ngee, the director of Liquidlab Communication Pte Ltd, to obtain a work permit for Guiyu. Li, in his capacity as a key appointment holder of the employment agency, submitted a work permit application stating that Guiyu would be employed as a sales representative by Liquidlab Communication Pte Ltd, which he knew was false.

Liquidlab had no intention to employ Guiyu, and Guiyu had no intention to work for the company.

On October 2021, Guiyu was issued with a work permit and arrived in Singapore to source for her own jobs without performing any work for Liquidlab. She was then arrested by the Police on 17 November 2021 for engaging in ‘vice’ activities. She was issued a stern warning and subsequently repatriated. She has also been barred from working in Singapore.

“All employment agencies and employers are required to make accurate, complete and truthful declarations to the Controller of Work Passes in their work pass applications,” the Ministry of Manpower stated. “Making false declarations is a serious offence. If convicted, an offender can be fined up to SGD 20,000 (USD 14,752), or jailed for up to two years, or both. Errant employers will have their work pass privileges suspended, and the work pass applicant will also be barred from working in Singapore.”