According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), a 40-year-old Singapore Permanent Resident, Sheng Jianzhong, the Managing Director of Sheng Yu Construction Builders Pte Ltd was sentenced to three weeks’ imprisonment and fined $169,000 on Monday, 6 Apr.

Sheng was charged with receiving kickbacks from 24 foreign workers, obstruction of justice, and use of criminal force to a civil servant. The total amount of kickbacks received amounted to $85,380.

From September 2012 to January 2013, 24 workers hired by Sheng were each required to pay him a sum of $7,200 as a condition for employment.

After receiving a complaint by one of the workers in Feb 2013, MOM raided the construction site off Jalan Legundi. During the raid, when an MOM investigation officer tried to collect documentary evidence for investigations, Sheng grabbed the officer’s left arm and thumb to prevent him from doing so. The officer suffered injuries as a result of the scuffle.

For the use of criminal force, Sheng was sentenced to a total of three weeks’ imprisonment. He was has also ordered Sheng to pay $169,000 in default three months’ imprisonment for receiving kickbacks. MOM has also barred him from hiring foreign workers.

Commenting on the case, Mr Kevin Teoh, Divisional Director of MOM’s Foreign Manpower Management Division said, “We take a serious view of employers who collect kickbacks as it further increases the debt burden of foreign workers, and is detrimental to their well-being. We will continue to clamp down on such practices as in the case of Sheng Jianzhong. With respect to using criminal force on a civil servant, perpetrators can expect the force of the law to be applied.”

Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, most monies collected from foreign workers will be deemed as employment kickbacks, unless the purposes for which they are collected can be properly accounted for. Offenders found guilty of the offence can be imprisoned for up to two years, or fined a maximum of $30,000, or both.

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