Computer firm director charged for false declaration of salaries

SINGAPORE - A computer firm director has been charged by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for allegedly making false salary declarations in Employment Pass application forms.

Singaporean Singaravelu Murugan, 44, director of MN Computer Systems had allegedly made the false declarations between July 5 and Sept 6 last year in 17 application forms and three renewal application forms for Employment Passes, wrote MOM in a statement today.

One of the criteria for granting Employment Passes is that applicants must meet the minimum salary requirement.

During the application/renewal for work passes, the accused allegedly declared that he would pay $4,500 a month to each of his 20 foreign employees.

However, he intended to pay them salaries lower than what was declared. Based on the false declarations, the applications and renewals were subsequently approved and the passes were issued to the 20 foreign employees, who were employed as software engineers.

MOM wrote in the statement that it had also investigated the employees to determine if they were involved. All of them were unaware that a higher salary had been declared. They have since stopped working for MN Computer Systems and are now working for new employers.

Murugan was charged with 20 counts of false declaration of salaries to MOM.

This is the third major case this year involving employers making false salary declarations.

In April, MOM charged eight employers who were franchisees of local convenience store 7-Eleven, and in June, Woolim Plant Engineering & Construction was convicted of making false statements to MOM in the applications of 15 work passes for its Bangladeshi workers.

Those who are guilty of making a false declaration to MOM through the fraudulent submission of salary information to circumvent work pass eligibility criteria can be fined up to $20,000 or imprisoned up to two years per charge.

klim@sph.com.sg