Forty-one persons, including the alleged mastermind of an illegal labour import syndicate have been arrested by Singapore authorities on charges of bringing them and making profits through shell companies.
The arrests were made following an island-wide operation conducted on July 1 and 2, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
The ministry said the syndicate would set up shell companies to bring in the foreign workers and make enormous profits from collecting large amount of kickbacks.
"As there is no actual employment, the upkeep and maintenance are left to these workers who have unwittingly become victims of the scam.
"In other instances, there are also workers who would willingly pay a large sum of money to be part of the scam in order to obtain a genuine work pass. In turn, they would seek illegal employment," said the Ministry.
"We will continue to use the full force of the law to take perpetrators who deliberately circumvent our work pass framework to task," said Kevin Teoh MOM's divisional director for Foreign Manpower Management division.
Recognising the need to target syndicates who profit from the illegal import of labour, the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) was amended in November 2012 to give MOM greater enforcement powers to deal and heavily penalise offenders involved in illegal labour importation.
Prosecution action will be taken against persons who have been found to be involved in such illegal activities, said the Ministry.
For being the mastermind of a syndicate that imports foreign workers for illegal employment, the offender may be fined up to SGD 6,000 (over USD 4451)and/or face an imprisonment of six months to two years per worker.
If convicted of at least six similar offences at the same trial, the offender is liable to caning.
Employers who hire foreign workers seeking illegal employment face a fine of between SGD 5,000 and SGD 30,000 or up to 12 months' imprisonment or to both. They may also be barred from employing foreign workers.
For foreigners, who work without valid work passes, they face a fine of up to SGD 20,000 or 24 months' imprisonment or to both. They may also be barred from working in Singapore.
In the past year, the Ministry has dismantled three syndicates involved in setting up seven companies which had brought in approximately 500 workers who were involved in illegal employment.
