A Singaporean man, Nurkhairul Achis, has been sentenced to six weeks in jail and fined S$6,000. His crime? Illegally hiring a domestic worker who was moonlighting as a part-time cleaner for other households. Initially, Nurkhairul had declined the proposition to employ his wife’s friend for domestic work, primarily since she wouldn’t be serving his household. However, he later succumbed to his wife’s request and hired the woman, aiding her in securing a work permit.
The domestic worker, Yin Yin Htwe Hlaing, was not engaged in household chores in Nurkhairul’s home. Instead, she was cleaning part-time for seven other households over a span of seven months, pocketing a total of S$2,000. This illicit operation was exposed when the Ministry of Manpower stumbled upon her unlawful activities, triggering legal consequences for everyone implicated.
It all started when Yin sought the help of her friend Ei Ei Khing Soe to secure a work permit, with the hidden agenda of doing part-time cleaning work for others. Ei agreed to assist, but only if Yin paid her S$6,500. Ei then convinced her husband, Nurkhairul, to hire Yin as their domestic worker. Yin handed over S$4,000 to Ei, out of which S$1,000 was used for the services of an employment agency, engaged by Nurkhairul to process Yin’s work permit.
Despite the work permit specifying that Yin would work for Nurkhairul as a maid, she still needs to fulfill this obligation. Instead, she engaged in part-time cleaning for multiple households without a valid work pass. The offenses were brought to light after the Ministry of Manpower inspected a unit and discovered Yin staying there unlawfully.
During the legal proceedings, Nurkhairul pleaded guilty to two counts under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act related to making false statements in a work pass application and aiding Yin in her crime of being self-employed without a valid work pass. His defense lawyer argued that he was compelled to comply with his wife’s decisions due to fear of reprisal and should thus receive a shorter jail term.
The judge, however, emphasized that the entire illegal scheme wouldn’t have been possible without Nurkhairul’s involvement, thus warranting his jail sentence and fine. The judge further highlighted the need to deter such abuse of the work permit system.
