3 firms fined, 4 ex-directors jailed in false salary declaration case

The Ill false declarations were linked to work permit and S Pass applications or renewals

- Shaffigq Alkhatib

Three firms were fined and four of its former directors were jailed on Thursday in the largest and most extensive case involving false declarations investigated by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to date.

Due to the ruse that ran from 2009 to 2019, the three companies under property and logistics solutions company MES Group - Mini Environment Service, Labourtel Management Corporation and MES Logistics could hire more foreign employees than they would otherwise have qualified for, said MOM in a statement.

As a result, the companies made significant profits over the years. For instance, Labourtel, the operator of four foreign worker dormitories, made $6,225,589 while MES Logistics, which provided transport services for materials and workers, made $4,099,397.

The ruse involved the submission of 111 false salary declarations linked to work permit and S Pass applications or renewals to MOM.

The affected workers then had to return the difference between their inflated declared monthly salaries and their actual earnings in cash.

The prosecution said the returned monies amounted to approximately $1,225,140 for Mini Environment Service, $508,200 for Labourtel and $78,000 for MES Logistics.