SINGAPORE: A marketing operations manager working in Singapore on an employment pass agreed to help an acquaintance by hiring her as a maid on paper in exchange for money. This was despite her knowing that the acquaintance would be sourcing for her own work and wanted the work permit only to stay in Singapore.

However, when the manager needed a maid to care for her toddler, she could not hire one as she already had one on record. She then turned to a colleague to help hire another maid on paper in the colleague's name. Those involved - two maids and their two employers on paper - have been sentenced to jail for flouting foreign employment laws.

On Monday (Jul 15), 48-year-old marketing operations manager Loraine Bucud Arat was sentenced to nine weeks' jail. Her colleague Chuang Tiew Jong Veronica, a 72-year-old Singaporean, was handed 12 days' jail, while 41-year-old Filipina maid Pestano Jeannette Masinsin received five weeks' imprisonment. The fourth woman - domestic helper Cerbas Melanie Selerio, was sentenced in 2021 to eight weeks' imprisonment.

Jeannette and Chuang pleaded guilty to one charge each under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act of submitting a false statement in a work permit application for a domestic helper. Loraine pleaded guilty to one charge of making a false statement in her application for a maid's work permit for Melanie, and a second charge for conspiring with Jeannette and Chuang to make another false statement in the work permit application for Jeannette. A third charge was considered in sentencing.

THE CASE

According to court documents, Loraine worked as a marketing operations manager in Singapore on an employment pass. In 2016, she got to know Melanie, a domestic helper working for another family in Singapore, through a volleyball game.

In late 2017, Melanie asked Loraine if she knew anyone who needed a maid. The two women discussed the issue and Loraine agreed to apply for a domestic helper work permit for Melanie in her name. They had an understanding that Melanie would use the work permit to remain in Singapore and look for her own employment, and that Loraine would not actually be her employer. As part of the agreement, Melanie agreed to bear her own monthly levy of S$300, and to pay Loraine monthly rental and utility fees of between S$300 and S$400.

Loraine submitted an application to the Ministry of Manpower's Work Pass Division in June 2018 to employ Melanie as a domestic helper at her home. This false arrangement went on for just over a year, with Melanie doing part-time cleaning work around Singapore until her work permit was cancelled in September 2019.

In late 2017, around the same time Loraine had agreed to help Melanie with her false application, Loraine brought her toddler to Singapore to start schooling.

Loraine had hired Jeannette as a nanny in the Philippines in June 2015 to care for her daughter, who was aged one then. Loraine then relocated to Singapore for work and left her daughter in the Philippines with Jeannette. In late 2017, Loraine wanted to bring Jeannette over to Singapore so Jeanette could care for her girl, who was about three years old by then.

However, she was unsuccessful in applying for a maid permit for Jeannette, as she was already the work permit employer for Melanie. Around October 2018, Loraine asked her colleague Chuang to help obtain a work permit for Jeannette. She explained to Chuang that she could not succeed in getting one for Jeannette, whom she wanted to care for her daughter. The reason for her failure was not disclosed to Chuang.

At that time, Loraine had been taking her daughter to the office regularly, disrupting her work performance. In light of this, Chuang agreed to help Loraine.

She submitted a work permit application to hire Jeannette as a maid at her address. After the application was approved, Jeannette entered Singapore, stayed with Loraine and worked for her. For about nine months from November 2018, the trio maintained the arrangement. During this period, Chuang also hired Jeannette to clean her own home about twice a month.

Each session lasted about five hours, and Chuang would pay Jeannette S$50.  MOM received a tip-off about possible contravention of foreign employment laws and began investigating the case in November 2019.

PROSECUTION CALLS FOR JAIL

MOM prosecutor Khong Zi-Wei on Monday sought 11 weeks' jail for Loraine, six weeks for Jeannette and three to four weeks for Chuang. Mr Khong said Loraine had masterminded the scheme, approaching Chuang with her proposal, which included Loraine transferring Jeannette's monthly levy to Chuang and for Loraine to prepare all the necessary administrative paperwork.

Chuang agreed, but did not make any financial gains from the arrangement. Mr Khong said MOM would not have issued the work permit for Jeannette if it knew she would be working for Loraine, since Loraine's applications for Jeannette had been rejected twice.

Mr Khong said the deception was "conscious and planned", allowing Jeannette to remain in Singapore for nine months before her permit was cancelled. He said Chuang's actions had allowed both Loraine and Jeannette to abuse the work pass framework.

"She had effectively deprived a foreign employee (and prospective employer) of an opportunity to work legally in Singapore as a migrant domestic worker," said Mr Khong.

While Chuang did not benefit financially, she was an intermediary between Loraine and Jeannette. She was also able to enjoy the benefits of Jeannette's domestic work as and when she required, without having to maintain her as a domestic helper under the work pass and regulatory conditions.

DEFENCE'S MITIGATION

The three women were represented by Mr Laurence Goh from Laurence Goh Eng Yau & Co.

He sought leniency for his clients, saying that Chuang in particular was "quite a sick lady" who survived cancer. She cannot squat and has to go to the toilet about five times a night, and the condition has given her a lot of difficulties in her movement, said Mr Goh. He said Chuang cooperated fully, and received no financial gain. In her old age and immobile situation, she accepted it when Jeannette helped her to clean the house and gave S$50 for Jeannette's help "in appreciation", said Mr Goh.

He said it was "impromptu" and not a fixed situation where it was agreed Jeannette would clean Chuang's home a certain number of times a month.

He said all three women had intended to plead guilty at the first instance, but were advised to seek legal advice as they were facing jail terms.

District Judge Ronald Gwee said this offence was one that MOM has given "sufficient publicity about", and is particularly difficult to detect.

If MOM has to inspect and examine employment situations regularly, it would strain its resources, said the judge. He agreed with the prosecution that sufficiently stern sentences have to be meted out, as in many of such cases, the offenders do not feel that what they did "is so seriously wrong".

If MOM's efforts to control the employment situation are hampered, it could lead to many negative effects for the country, said the judge.

Chuang intends to appeal.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/filipino-conspire-colleague-hire-maid-paper-jail-mom-laws-4480656Source: CNA/ll(gr)