On 19 July, news broke that Jane Lee, owner of the salad shop Sumo Salad at Holland Village in Singapore, had passed away.
Her death came shortly after she shared troubling details of an alleged fraudulent workplace injury claim involving a foreign worker—an ordeal which, she said, caused severe distress to her and her business.
Her passing has since sparked widespread discussion on social media. Many mourned her loss and highlighted wider concerns about mental stress, the vulnerability of small businesses, and possible exploitation.
Numerous netizens have now come forward with their own experiences of suspected false workplace injury claims. Many are urging the authorities to balance protection for both employees and employers, and to increase scrutiny of fraudulent claims that they say have existed in Singapore’s job market for some time.
Jane Lee passed away on 19 July after raising alarm over alleged foreign worker injury claim scam
Lee, who was in her 40s and a mother of two, described the allegations in her final Facebook posts.
She claimed that an employee from India had staged a workplace accident to defraud her business.
According to Lee, just two days before the worker’s contract was due to end, she staged an incident—claiming to have slipped and fallen while using an escalator to dispose of rubbish.
“On that day, she was supposed to leave work early, but she deliberately stayed back. It became clear to me that the accident was premeditated, likely as an attempt to file a false work injury claim, ” Lee wrote.
Lee accused the worker and her husband, both from India, of targeting small businesses, possibly with the backing of a legal firm coaching individuals on how to exploit injury claims for compensation.
She expressed that small businesses without comprehensive insurance were especially vulnerable.
“If they find one without proper insurance coverage, they instil fear and try to extort money,” Lee alleged.
She further claimed that if a business is insured, such workers may aim for higher payouts by fabricating more serious injuries, including permanent disabilities, to secure substantial sums from insurers.
In her final messages, Lee pleaded with authorities to investigate thoroughly, expressing fear that other small business owners could fall victim to similar schemes.
“I’m truly sorry that I couldn’t find the strength to face this battle on my own,” Lee wrote to her family and children.
MOM probes alleged false injury claim at Lee’s shop as police investigate her sudden death
On 21 July, the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced it was investigating the alleged fraudulent work injury claim filed against EatGreen Pte. Ltd., the company that operates Sumo Salad, now rebranded as Sumo Well.
The Singapore Police Force is separately investigating the unnatural death of Lee.
MOM confirmed that its officers had communicated with Lee before her passing.
The ministry emphasised that investigations into the worker’s claim are ongoing, with officers coordinating with the relevant insurance provider to verify the workplace incident’s validity.
MOM stated that the worker involved is covered under the Work Injury Compensation Act and assured the public that it will not hesitate to take action against parties found guilty of abusing the system.
Employers with concerns about fraudulent claims have been encouraged to approach MOM for assistance.
Tributes pour in as netizens highlight similar cases of alleged fraudulent claims
Observing comments on MOM’s Facebook page and Lee’s own page, tributes have poured in from netizens and Singapore’s food and beverage community.
Many expressed condolences to Lee’s family and lamented the pressures faced by small business owners.
Several netizens shared their own encounters with suspected false workplace injury claims.
For instance, one individual recounted an employee who claimed severe injuries after falling down stairs but was later seen moving normally outside court.
The worker reportedly received compensation and then secured employment in Canada despite claiming to be handicapped.
The netizen questioned how the system allows such cases to succeed and warned that false claims burden small businesses and insurers alike.
Others suggested that some workers may deliberately injure themselves to obtain compensation.
One netizen urged MOM to question Lee’s former employee thoroughly, recommending points investigators should examine to test the claim’s credibility.
The commenter stressed that with the worker still alive, MOM must uncover the truth, as no insurance payout can ever compensate for Lee’s loss.
Some comments claimed that fraudulent claims could also be used to extend workers’ stay in Singapore once their contracts end, buying time to find other jobs while investigations continue for months.
Another netizen described how their company dealt with a suspected fraudulent injury claim.
Despite submitting evidence and explanations to MOM and its appointed doctor, the employer’s concerns were dismissed, and MOM sided with the employee.
The commenter later discovered that the claimant was an undischarged bankrupt who had served a prison sentence for theft.
Years later, the employee succeeded in making the claim when new management chose not to contest it. At the time, the commenter managed to stop an insurance payout of S$23,000 but remained frustrated that the case had not been permanently closed.
Others shared similar stories of workers faking injuries, hiding to avoid detection, and being coached by agents or law firms to exaggerate injuries for larger payouts. Some alleged that feedback to MOM was overlooked and claimed that such practices remain common in certain worker dormitories.
Calls for MOM to balance safeguards for workers and small business owners
Several netizens have called on MOM to provide a public statement on the investigation involving Lee’s company. They also urged the ministry to balance protection for both employees and employers, pointing out that many small and medium enterprises lack the resources to investigate and present evidence to counter potentially fraudulent claims.
Additionally, some called for MOM to scrutinise law firms or lawyers who handle a disproportionately high number of foreign worker injury claims, warning that these could be motivated by high or success-based contingency fees that might encourage exaggerated claims.
Some netizens also urged MOM to share statistics on how many appeals employers file each month and how many are rejected, to boost transparency.
The post Netizens urge MOM to tighten checks on false injury claims after Jane Lee’s passing sparks alarm appeared first on The Online Citizen.
