Filipino maid, 37, asks local boyfriend to employ her so she can stay in S'pore, gets 3 weeks' jail

A 37-year-old Filipino woman was working as a domestic helper in Singapore when she found out her employer was going to terminate her employment.

To stay in Singapore, Sotto Jennie Villaron asked her local boyfriend to get a work pass for her under the guise of working as his domestic helper.

For about four months, she lived with the man, Faizal bin Farid, as his girlfriend and also worked as a babysitter in Singapore.

Sotto was sentenced to three weeks' jail on Sep. 1 after pleading guilty to one charge under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, CNA reported.

Lied on work pass application

Court documents seen by Mothership indicated that sometime in 2021, Sotto got into a romantic relationship with Faizal.

In February 2024, she told Faizal that her employer intended to terminate her employment.

Sotto asked her boyfriend to help her obtain a work pass under his name to validate her stay in Singapore. Otherwise, she would have to return to the Philippines.

Faizal agreed.

On Mar. 7, 2024, Sotto signed a declaration form which stated, among other items, that she would be employed by Faizal as his domestic helper.

She was subsequently issued a work permit.

Prosecutors argued that Sotto had no intention to actually work as his domestic helper, and if authorities had known this, she would not have been issued a work permit.

From Mar. 9, 2024 to Jul. 2, 2024, Sotto lived with Faizal as his girlfriend for four to five nights a week.

For the remaining nights, she worked as a babysitter at a different location.

Sotto also did not perform any domestic helper duties for Faizal.

On Jul. 2, 2024, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) caught wind of potential contraventions of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and started investigations into Sotto.

Sotto pleaded guilty to conspiring with Faizal to make a false statement to the Controller of Work Passes in a domestic helper application.

Another charge for working in Singapore without a valid work permit was taken into consideration for sentencing.

She masterminded the conspiracy: Prosecutors

In their submissions, MOM prosecutors asked for a deterrent sentence of four weeks' jail for Sotto, arguing that she was the mastermind of the conspiracy as she had asked Faizal to help her obtain a work permit under false pretenses.

Prosecutors pointed out that she had circumvented Singapore's foreign manpower regulations and also engaged in unauthorised employment in Singapore, "undermining the integrity of the work pass framework".

Sotto, who was not represented by a lawyer, begged for leniency in court and apologised for her actions, according to CNA.

She also said she would like to stay in Singapore and work here, and hoped she would be given a chance.

The judge replied that he had "no control" over whether or not she could work in Singapore in the future, and that it was not for him to decide.

Sotto was sentenced to three weeks' jail on Sep. 1.

The judge allowed her to defer her sentence for a few days.

Faizal faces similar charges for his alleged involvement in the case.

His case is still before the courts.

Top image from Canva