3 MES Group firms and directors face 553 charges of employment offences

SINGAPORE — The MES Group of property and logistics firms and their directors were on Thursday (March 18) charged with flouting employment laws, including falsely declaring workers’ salaries, illegally employing foreigners without valid work passes and making their workers clock excessive overtime hours.

In all, they face 553 charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and Employment Act.

The court action came after the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), acting on a tipoff in 2019, started a special operation to look into allegations of illegal conduct at the group. 

The companies that have been charged are Mini Environment Service, Labourtel Management Corporation and MES Logistics. 

The directors implicated in the court case are all Singaporeans. They are Chew Chain Loon, 56; Fathimunnisa Mohamed Abdul Jaleel, 37; Haja Nawaz, 52; Parvis Ahmed Mohamed Ghouse, 44; and Mohamed Jinna Mohamed Abdul Jaleel, 38.

STRING OF OFFENCES

MOM’s investigation revealed that between November 2009 and May 22 in  2019, Mini Environment Service allegedly dispatched its workers to work for Labourtel and MES Logistics without valid work passes. 

The directors and companies have also been charged with abetting and making false salary and employment declarations in the companies’ work-pass applications. 

Mini Environment Service is also believed to have made its employees work beyond the permitted overtime hours stipulated under the Employment Act, Singapore’s main labour law, between March and May 2019.

Under the Employment Act, an employee may clock up to 72 overtime hours in a month.

The case against the directors and companies will be heard again in court on April 8. 

Labourtel, which operates dormitories for migrant workers, was in September last year fined S$118,000 for overcrowding and failing to maintain the cleanliness of the premises under its care in 2018 and 2019.

STERN ACTION 

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Kevin Teoh, divisional director of MOM’s foreign manpower management division, commended the whistleblower for his willingness to step forward and the witnesses for their cooperation. 

“MOM takes a serious view of such allegations and continues to be vigilant in our surveillance and enforcement efforts. We will take strong enforcement action against offending parties,” he said.

Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, the punishment for illegal employment is a fine of between S$5,000 and S$30,000 or a jail term of up to 12 months, or both. 

For making a false statement or providing false information in any application or renewal of a work pass, the penalty is a fine of up to S$20,000 or a jail term of up to two years, or both.

Under the Employment Act, making employees put in excessive overtime hours carries a fine of up to S$5,000. 

For any subsequent offence, offenders are liable for fines of up to S$10,000 or jail terms of up to 12 months, or both.

MOM urged those with details of labour law breaches to report them via the ministry’s website or via phone on 6438 5122. All information will be kept confidential.