When a fitness instructor in Taiwan was recommended by her acquaintances to work in Singapore, she jumped at the opportunity.

The 29-year-old, surnamed Kuo, left behind her fitness instructor career to become a mermaid performer at a bar and restaurant in West Coast, along with two others from Taiwan.

Little did she know she would leave the sunny island six months later with half the salary she was promised.

The three Taiwanese mermaid performers are now accusing The Mermaid restaurant for shortchanging them of three months' worth of salary or approximately S$10,200.

The restaurant has since paid S$1,000 of the salary owed to each of them on Apr. 23 and closed down on Apr. 29, with no indication of whether it would follow through with the outstanding amount.

Mothership spoke with two of the Taiwanese mermaid performers about what allegedly happened.

Suspicious signs after just 2 months

Kuo and the two other performers began working at The Mermaid in November 2023, with the expectation that they would be working for six months.

Their suspicions were first aroused in February, when the company gave them their salary in split portions of S$1,700 each on Feb. 2 and Feb. 27.

Up till then, the company had paid them on the seventh of every month.

"This was an initial sign that they were starting to pay wages late," Kuo said.

Another mermaid performer, a 24-year-old surnamed Wu, said their boss would constantly promise to give them their salary by "the next week".

Worried that she wouldn't get her pay if she stopped working, Kuo continued to report for work as usual.

Wu noticed the company began to serve takeout meals around the end of January, despite the contract stating that the kitchen would prepare dinner for employees.

"I found out later that the kitchen was on strike and refused to cook meals for the employees because the company owed them wages," Wu said.

When asked why he chose to stay in the company when salaries began to be delayed, Wu said, "We trusted that he would fulfil his promise of paying us."

Permits cancelled without notice

Things took a turn for the worse in April, when Kuo and Wu learned their work permits had been cancelled without their knowledge.

"Six hours before I was supposed to leave, my boss told me not to leave the country," Wu said. He had booked flight tickets to Thailand prior for the Songkran Festival.

His boss then revealed to him that his work permit was cancelled.

"Why didn't my boss say anything if he knew about this?" Wu said, frustrated. "I already reminded my boss in February and March that I was going abroad in April and he said it was okay."

Sought help from MOM

Furious, Wu went to seek help from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Kuo said the performers sought help from MOM on Apr. 12 and 15, where they were told their work permits had been cancelled in February and March, and that they should not continue to work.

"If we had known our permits were cancelled, we wouldn't have worked to begin with," Kuo told Mothership.

Wu also said that he had discussed the matter with his supervisor after he went to MOM on Apr. 12, but the supervisor had advised him to trust the boss's promise that the boss would pay the owed salaries.

Wu said his supervisor was worried that if an appeal was filed immediately, the boss might refuse to pay their wages.

As of May 15, the company had yet to contact Wu with any updates.

Not all glitz and glamour

The job of a mermaid performer is not all glitz and glamour.

Wu shared with Mothership that the performance is a coordinated effort with their colleagues, as they can only hold their breaths underwater for approximately 45 seconds to a minute each time.

Apart from safety risks from holding one's breath underwater, items such as rocks and other props can become safety hazards to a mermaid performer if they're not careful, as their leg movements are constricted by the mermaid tail.

Prolonged immersion in water can also cause health issues, and Wu also shared that he suffered ear inflammation several times.

Despite this, Kuo and Wu said they both enjoyed being mermaid performers.

"I feel confident and like how I can become a different character," Kuo said, when asked why she chose to become a mermaid performer to begin with. "I feel like I'm Ariel from 'The Little Mermaid'".

Wu, a former swimming coach, said he had enjoyed working at The Mermaid, as customers would take the initiative to chat and take photos with him, as well as offer encouragement and support.

"We were very happy when we heard the cheers from the children," Kuo added.

She said that she took the job opportunity as she had plans to continue working in Singapore after her job at The Mermaid. Yet the delayed payment has foiled her initial plans.

"If possible, I hope to continue working in Singapore. I like this job very much," Kuo told Mothership. "I'm just unhappy about the delayed salaries and the fact that my boss has repeatedly broken his promises to us."

Restaurant's Facebook deleted, Instagram set to private

The restaurant's Facebook page has since been deleted and their Instagram set to private when searched by Mothership on May 6.

When Mothership went to the site to visit on May 8 and 9, the restaurant was closed and their sign had been taken down.

Employees that worked next door said they believed the restaurant had been closed for some time, and estimated the closure to have been around Apr. 22 to May 3.

Mothership attempted to contact The Mermaid via an e-mail address on their website, but the e-mail could not be delivered.

When contacted on their business' WhatsApp number, a representative of The Mermaid said they have closed down with effect from Apr. 29.

When asked if management will be making any arrangements to pay the outstanding salaries, there was no response.

MOM investigating potential breaches

Responding to Mothership queries, spokespersons from MOM and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) confirmed that Wu had reached out to TADM in mid-April to enquire about his salary issues.

They said Wu was advised to lodge his salary claim with TADM, but chose not to proceed with the lodgement as he wanted to settle the matter with his employer privately.

The spokespersons added that they have reached out to the Taiwanese employees, including Wu, to offer further assistance, and said the company is under investigation by MOM for possible offences under the Employment Act.

Here is the full statement:

"Mr Wu [...] approached the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) in mid-April to enquire about his salary issues. He was advised to lodge his salary claim with TADM and given the timeline to do so, but he chose not to proceed with the lodgement as he wanted to settle with his employer privately.

As of May 2, 2024, the work permits issued to the company’s Taiwanese employees have expired and they have departed Singapore.

As of May 12, TADM has not received any salary-related claims from Mr Wu or other foreign employees. We have, however, reached out to the Taiwanese employees, including Mr Wu, to offer further assistance. Meanwhile, a local employee had lodged a salary claim and has received full payment for the owed salary. The foreign ex-employees who are owed salaries can still approach TADM at www.tal.sg/tadm/contact-us to file their salary claims even though they have left Singapore. They should do so within six months from their last day of work. TADM will mediate their claims using online mediation.

MOM is investigating the company for possible offences under the Employment Act."

Wu said that he has contacted TADM on the matter.

Top image courtesy of Kuo, Wu and Mothership.