S'porean man, 45, registers Filipino girlfriend as maid to extend her stay in S'pore, gets jail

In February 2024, a Filipino woman working as a domestic helper in Singapore was due to leave the country after her employer decided to let her go.

Instead, she asked her Singaporean boyfriend, with whom she had been in a relationship since 2021, to hire her on paper so that she could continue staying in Singapore on a valid work permit.

The man agreed and made an employment transfer application to hire the woman under his name, without the actual intention of employing her as his domestic helper.

A work permit was issued to the woman about a week later, allowing her to stay on in Singapore.

First charge

The man, Faizal Farid, now 45, was sentenced to three weeks' imprisonment on Oct. 14 for making a false statement to the Controller of Work Passes.

He was caught after authorities received information on potential contraventions of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) relating to the woman, 37-year-old Sotto Jennie Villaron.

Sotto was similarly sentenced to three weeks' jail on Sep. 1 after pleading guilty to one charge of making a false statement to the Controller of Work Passes.

Second charge

Charge sheets indicated that a second charge was handed to Faizal for abetting to Sotto's engagement in part-time work as a babysitter outside of her work permit.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, Sotto lived at Faizal's home from Mar. 9, 2024 to Jul. 2, 2024 as his girlfriend for four to five nights a week.

She did not perform any domestic helper duties during this period.

For the remaining nights, she worked as a babysitter at a different location, where she also stayed overnight.

This meant that Sotto was considered a self-employed foreigner without a valid work pass.

Faizal was found to be aware of and gave his consent for Sotto to engage in the external work while being employed under his name.

Sentencing

For each of Faizal's offences, he was liable to a fine of up to S$20,000, up to two years' imprisonment, or both.

He was eventually handed a three-week sentence after his lawyers argued that he was the sole caregiver to his only son while working as an operations technician.

The idea for the scheme was also born from Sotto, and Faizal had given in only after her pleas, the lawyers pointed out, according to CNA.

As Faizal had paid Sotto at least S$700 per month, as well as the required levy for her work permit, they argued that Faizal had no financial benefit from the agreement, while Sotto did.

He acted "not out of greed or intent to exploit, but out of a misguided desire to help someone he loved," CNA quoted the lawyers as saying.

Top image via Mothership