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SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Labor (MOM) will review its sanctions framework for employers who illegally deploy their foreign domestic workers.
Action will be taken against employers in cases similar to the one involving former maid Parti Liyani, regardless of whether they are aware of the illegal deployment, State Minister for Manpower Gan Siow Huang said on Monday (October 5).
“This is to remind employers that they are ultimately responsible for their foreign domestic workers and must take steps to ensure that the deployment of foreign domestic workers in their homes does not contravene the law,” he added.
Ms. Gan was responding to Ms. Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), on the considerations behind MOM’s action against Ms. Parti’s employer, former Changi Airport Group Chairman Liew Mun Leong , for their illegal deployment and if they are consistent with similar cases in the past.
He told the Chamber that his ministry received around 550 complaints of illegal deployment each year from 2017 to 2019, of which an average of 155 employers were warned or fined.
Of the 155, around 60 were issued with a warning notice, while 80 were issued with a warning.
On average, 16 employers received fines ranging from $ 3,300 to $ 24,000.
In determining the punishment for illegal deployment, the MOM’s key considerations are the degree to which the maid’s welfare has been compromised and the extent of the illegal deployment, Gan said.
Ms. Parti’s case was handled in accordance with these considerations, he added.
The MOM had taken no further action against Mr. Liew, while it issued a warning to Ms. Liew and a warning notice to her son, Mr. Karl Liew.
Ms. Gan said that a review is underway for Ms. Parti’s case, and that the MOM will provide an update when it is completed.
The high-profile case saw MPs submit 14 parliamentary questions on the subject.
They include what went wrong in the investigations, whether the government would consider allowing foreign domestic workers to be accompanied by non-legal personnel for police interviews, and whether the government could provide direct legal assistance to vulnerable individuals charged with criminal offenses.
On Monday, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Desmond Tan, said that the relevant agencies are conducting reviews on the matter and that the Minister of Internal Affairs and Law, K. Shanmugam, will deliver a ministerial statement next month.
Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok) asked about the exact scope of the ongoing review and whether the investigation into the conduct of the two prosecutors in the Ms Parti case would affect Shanmugam’s ability to issue its ministerial statement on the matter in the case. that it lasts.
In response, Shanmugam said that he would answer all questions raised by MPs on the issue in Parliament next month, adding that disciplinary procedures for the two prosecutors will be heard and decided by the court in “a week or so.” .
Parti, who worked for the Liew family for nine years, was sentenced to prison in March last year after she was found guilty of stealing $ 34,000 in items from the family.
The 46-year-old woman successfully appealed her conviction in a three-day hearing that took place between November last year and August this year.
The case caused quite a stir after a Superior Court judge determined that Ms. Parti’s conviction by the trial judge was “unsafe” for various reasons. These included the way the police handled the evidence and the motive for the allegations made by some members of the Liew family.
This led to questions about how the criminal justice system treats disadvantaged people.
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