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SINGAPORE: Two foreign workers have been convicted of making fraudulent claims under the Workers’ Compensation Law, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Tuesday (March 23).
Rohoman Md Shimul, a Bangladeshi national, was sentenced to four weeks in prison on Tuesday, and a charge of making a false statement to a MOM investigative officer was considered for sentencing.
Singh Arshdeep, an Indian national, was convicted on March 10 and sentenced to four weeks in prison for his fraudulent complaint and three weeks in prison for providing false information to a MOM investigative officer. The two Singh prayers will run at the same time.
THE CASE OF ROHOMAN
On August 16, 2019, Rohoman’s employer, Kim Bock Contractor, filed an incident report on his behalf stating that he had sustained a right hand injury while meeting a friend outside of his workplace on July 18. of that year.
MOM told Rohoman that the accident could not be admitted under the Workers’ Compensation Act, as it did not occur in the course of or as a result of his employment.
“Rohoman subsequently filed a workers’ compensation claim stating that his injury occurred on the job,” MOM said.
“MOM’s investigations revealed that Rohoman’s account differed from that of two supervisors at his company.
“Rohoman had told them separately on two occasions on July 18, 2019, that he had fallen and injured himself while meeting a friend outside of the workplace.”
THE CASE OF SINGH
On August 5, 2019, Singh filed a workers’ compensation claim against his employer, Enlighten Furniture, alleging that he had sustained injuries to his left middle finger, left index finger, left shoulder, back, and left knee.
Singh said the injuries resulted from falling backward down a ladder while carrying a wooden box in the course of his work on March 5 of that year.
“MOM’s investigations revealed that while Singh suffered a fall, the incident was staged,” the ministry said.
“The company’s CCTV footage showed Singh loitering at the crash site prior to the incident. He seemed to be rehearsing the accident.
“Soon after, he took the wooden box and walked slowly up the stairs. When other workers appeared in the vicinity, he slowly leaned back, threw the wooden box behind him, and fell down the stairs.
“The investigations also showed that he was not assigned the task of carrying the wooden box to carry out his work.”
“ACT OF DECEPTION”
The Workers’ Compensation Act serves to provide workers who are injured in workplace accidents with a quick and low-cost alternative to common law for resolving compensation claims, MOM said, adding that it takes all claims seriously.
“Making a fraudulent claim for workers’ compensation is not only an abuse of investigative resources, but also an objectionable act of deception,” the ministry said. “As such, all errant claimants will be charged.”
Those convicted of making fraudulent claims under the Workers’ Compensation Act can be fined up to S $ 15,000, imprisoned for up to 12 months, or both. For providing false information to the Labor Commissioner or an investigating officer, violators can be fined up to S $ 5,000, imprisoned for up to six months, or both.
