SINGAPORE: A domestic worker from the Philippines was sentenced earlier this week to 16 weeks of jail and a fine of S$25,000. She had been working for 12 years as a cleaner for at least five households part-time, though she was in Singapore illegally.
During that time, she earned approximately S$296,000.
According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), under the conditions of their work permits, foreign domestic helpers are only allowed to work for the people who officially hire them. They are not allowed to take on any other work or operate a business, even on their rest days.
Fifty-one-year-old Maya Clarina Santos Tagapan pleaded guilty to one count each of working as a self-employed foreigner without a valid work pass and contravening her work pass by failing to stay at her registered location, with another charge taken into consideration for her sentencing.
If Tagapan is unable to pay the fine, she will go to jail for another five weeks.
In 2007, Tagapan was in Singapore legally. But because the employer she worked for was leaving the city-state, she spoke to a Singaporean woman named Judy Gan, for whom she did part-time work.
She asked Ms Gan to “sponsor” her, as Tagapan wanted to keep working in Singapore.
Gan, who agreed for Tagapan to work for her, paid her a monthly levy of S$300, of which Tagapan paid back S$200. Tagapan did not live in Gan’s Jalan Redop residence, as indicated in her official documents. Instead, she only worked for her on Sundays, getting paid S$90 for each day’s work.
However, Tagapan was issued a work permit from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to work as Gan’s domestic helper. It was valid from October 2010 to March 2023.
Tagapan worked for at least five other households across several condominiums as a part-time cleaner from November 2012 to March 2023, with earnings of around S$2,000 each month.
CNA reported her total profit to be about S$296,000.
Tagapan’s activities and living arrangements were discovered when MOM looked into her case in March 2023.
Because of the length of time Tagapan carried out illegal activities, 20 to 24 weeks’ jail and a fine between S$25,000 and S$26,000 was sought by the prosecution, who called her “precisely the type of errant foreign employee” for whom the law giving MOM more room for enforcement actions against illegal activities, adding that Tagapan had done so for personal gain.
Gan is also facing charges.
Domestic workers who commit offences similar to Tagapan face fines of as much as S$20,000 and could be sent to jail for as long as two years. Moreover, their work permit could also be revoked, which would lead to deportation and being banned from working in Singapore.
Employers who allow their helpers to work elsewhere face fines of as much as S$10,000 and could also be banned from hiring foreign domestic workers in the future. Those who employ a helper without a valid work permit may be fined between S$5,000 and S$30,000, jailed for as long as a year, or both. /TISG
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