Couple convicted for conspiring to make a false declaration in work permit application

Two Singaporeans, 58-year-old Kay Siew Hwa (“Kay”), and her spouse, 61-year-old Woon Meng Fatt (“Woon”), were convicted on 2 November 2021 for conspiring to make a false declaration in the work permit application for Pirante Jean Delmo (“Delmo”), a 35-year-old Filipino.

2 Kay and Woon were each sentenced to 6 weeks’ imprisonment for their offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (“EFMA”). Kay was additionally fined $9,000 for illegally employing a migrant domestic worker (MDW), Martin Mylene Alinsangan (“Alinsangan”), a 37-year-old Filipino, as a housekeeper without a valid work pass.

Case Details

3 Investigations by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) revealed that Kay interviewed Delmo for a housekeeper job at K2 Guesthouse, which Kay owned, in August 2018. Kay reached an agreement with Delmo that she would apply for an MDW permit for Delmo instead of an S Pass.

4 At that time, Kay had already employed Alinsangan as an MDW and did not qualify to hire a second MDW. She sought Woon’s assistance to apply for an MDW work permit for Delmo using his name. Woon made a false declaration in Delmo’s work permit application that he would employ her as an MDW. He further substantiated his need for an MDW for his mother and brother’s special caregiving needs by submitting a doctor’s memo in his appeal.

5 Delmo entered Singapore in October 2018, and worked as a housekeeper at K2 Guesthouse for about a year until the offences were detected. Delmo was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment on 24 November 2020 for making a false declaration to MOM in her MDW work permit application form. She has been permanently barred from working in Singapore.

Advisory to Employers and Work Pass Applicants

6 All employers and work pass applicants must make accurate, complete and truthful declarations to the Controller of Work Passes in work pass applications under the EFMA. Making false declarations is a serious offence. If convicted, an offender can be fined up to $20,000, 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 permanently barred from working in Singapore.

7 Under the EFMA, MDWs are only allowed to perform household and domestic duties for the official employer and at the residential address as stated on the work permit card.

8 Members of public who are aware of suspicious employment activities such as illegal deployment of MDWs at a workplace, or know of persons or employers who contravene the EFMA should report the matter to MOM at mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg . All information will be kept strictly confidential.