Three individuals were convicted yesterday for working as self-employed foreigners without a valid work pass, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower.

The three worked illegally as food delivery riders. One Singaporean and one permanent resident were also convicted for abetting the said offence under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990 (EFMA).

Following their convictions, the three foreigners will be permanently barred from working in Singapore. All five individuals involved were also fined.

The Ministry’s investigation found that between May 2022 and March 2023, Ng Teik Chuan, worked as a food delivery rider using the MilkRun and LiveExpress applications. He made over 1,300 deliveries and earned around SGD 17,000 (USD 12,468) from his work. He would be charged under the EFMA for being a self-employed foreigner without having a valid work pass.

In March 2023, Amanullah Faizal Navas worked as a food delivery rider for four days using the FoodPanda account belonging to his friend Muhammad Mubeen Muthibbi Bin Sahul Hameed. Hameed agreed to share the use of his account despite being fully aware that Navas was a foreigner and that it was illegal for Navas to work as a food delivery rider. Navas earned around SGD 540 (USD 396) from his work.

Navas was charged under the EFMA for being a self-employed foreigner without having a valid work pass. Hameed was charged under the EFMA for abetting the illegal self-employment of a foreigner who does not have a valid work pass.

Between December 2022 and March 2023, Chaw Soon Yaw worked as a food delivery rider using the Deliveroo account of his brother, Chaw Soon Song. Soon Song had offered to share his account with Soon Yaw to supplement Soon Yaw’s income, despite being fully aware that it was illegal for Soon Yaw to work as a food delivery rider without a valid work pass. Soon Yaw earned more than SGD 2,000 (USD 1,466) from his work. Soon Yaw was charged under the EFMA for being a self-employed foreigner without having a valid work pass while Soon Song was charged for abetting the illegal self-employment of a foreigner who does not have a valid work pass.

Under the EFMA, only foreigners with valid work passes are allowed to work in Singapore, in the occupation as stated in their work passes.