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Considering that three workers were rioters, he locked them in a small room with a bathroom for more than a month, until one of them contacted the authorities.
Yesterday, Shaun Pang Tong Heng, 41, who was the general manager of Ad-Meth Mech-Field, was fined $ 9,000 after pleading guilty to three counts of wrongful confinement.
Three other similar charges were considered.
As part of the Covid-19 restrictions, all foreign workers living in dormitories were no longer allowed to enter or leave such premises as of April 22. This was intended to stop the spread of the virus in the bedrooms.
The three Indian workers, ages 23 to 39, were housed in the company-refurbished dormitory at 75 Tuas South Street 5.
On May 12, Pang was told that two of the workers were harassing another worker at the company, and that the third worker was being investigated by the police for an unrelated matter.
They told the court that one of them had driven without a license and crashed into company property, another had been driving under the influence and was involved in an accident, and the third was his drinking partner.
Pang considered them rioters and locked them in a confined area consisting of a room and a toilet, with a room measuring 3.4m by 4.3m.
Wifi
It had three beds, fans, a water cooler, and Wi-Fi.
The trio were locked up for three days, but Pang released them on May 15 after they complained that it was hot and had mosquitoes.
It allowed them to stay in a locked room that had three beds and air conditioning.
But on May 18, Pang was shown a video clip of two of the workers leaving the company premises. They told the court that the two workers had scaled a wall and gone out to buy alcohol, returning to the room later to drink with the third man.
They were apparently found reeking of alcohol in the room, even when drinking was not allowed on the premises.
Pang re-locked them in the confined area, and the metal fence surrounding the area was padlocked.
For the next 39 days, the workers remained in the room. They had their phones.
They were provided three meals a day for free. They told the court that they were complaining that the Wi-Fi connection was bad and Pang bought a new router so he could get a better connection.
On June 25, one of the workers used his phone to notify the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) about his lockdown.
MOM officers found them the next day and told Pang to release them immediately.
Yesterday, Assistant District Attorney Eric Hu told the court that although the trio had been confined to an area with the listed amenities, Pang had no excuse to take matters into his own hands. He said the workers could be considered vulnerable victims confined for a total of 42 days, and asked the court to fine Pang $ 3,000 for each charge.
The court was informed that the three workers will no longer be able to work here. For each count of wrongful confinement, Pang could have been jailed for up to three years in addition to a fine.
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