CHINA-born chef Li Fei came to Singapore in January with a contract in hand promising him $2,500 a month for cooking in an East Coast restaurant.

But when he got here, the 35-year-old said his salary was slashed to less than $800 and he was put to work waiting tables, The Straits Times reported.

The slight drove him to file a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower and make a police report.

Those in the food and beverage industry say his case is not uncommon. According to checks by The Straits Times, it's one of several schemes hatched by business owners to get around hiring quotas for labourers.

Between January and September last year, 52 employers were prosecuted and fined between $1,500 and $5,000 for cheating the system. That's almost double the number of 2006 cases, according to statistics from the Ministry of Manpower.

Industry players believe the trend could be a byproduct of Singapore's booming economy.

Business owners, many desperate for labour, are limited in the number of low- and medium- skilled workers they can hire.

Therefore, they offer jobs under the Employment Pass (EP) scheme, which is usually reserved for professionals and has no quotas. Once the workers get here, their duties and pay are downgraded.

Mr Li, who said he spent two years working in a restaurant before coming to Singapore, was one of those.

His employment pass entitled him to a minimum monthly salary of $2,500 - a hefty wage for a waiter.

Mr Li said his employer recouped the money by charging him $1,700 a month for 'living expenses'.

He claims he was housed in a small and windowless room at the back of the restaurant packed with about 20 workers.

His meals were also sub-standard.

'We got the yellowing vegetables that they could not serve to guests. And meat such as duck's head that was a day old,' said Mr Li.

However, when contacted by The Straits Times, Mr Li's employer denied the $1,700 monthly levy.

'I don't know anything about collecting money from Mr Li. Our company did not receive that money,' his employer said.

She also added that her restaurant has never charged its workers for food or lodging.

The Manpower Ministry said it is investigating Mr Li's case.

For more my paper stories click here.