3 foreigners arrested for working illegally as delivery riders: Koh Poh Koon

Three foreigners have been arrested in Singapore for allegedly working illegally as delivery riders in Singapore.

This comes after the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) conducted islandwide operations over the last few weeks.

In a video posted to Facebook on Monday (Aug 18), Senior Minister of State for Health and Manpower Koh Poh Koon said enforcement checks were carried out following complaints and feedback from the National Delivery Champions Association (NDCA) about hotspots. 

In the 57 second-long clip, MOM enforcement officers can be seen approaching delivery riders to conduct investigations and arresting those suspected of working in Singapore illegally.

Around 375 delivery workers were checked during the operations and three foreigners were arrested and are under investigation for allegedly working illegally as delivery riders.

MOM is also investigating the locals who abetted these foreigners to undertake illegal delivery work, said Dr Koh in his post.

Foreigners who work in Singapore without a valid work pass may be fined up to S$20,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.

The ministry had previously said that upon conviction, these individuals will be permanently barred from working in Singapore.

Locals who allow foreigners to use their accounts to work illegally may also face the same penalties, said Dr Koh.

Addressing the ministry's recent actions, he said: "These operations are essential to deter illegal platform work, even as the Platform Workers Trilateral Group develops its recommendations."

The trilateral work group was formed in July this year, following a call by the labour movement to tackle the issue of foreigners illegally doing delivery work and impacting the earnings of local platform workers in Singapore.

The work group consists of MOM, Ministry of Transport and Grab Singapore, as well as the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and its affiliated associations such as NDCA.

NDCA executive secretary Andy Ang said that the association "has been constantly engaging and receiving feedback from our delivery riders".

"We in turn share this feedback and information such as hotspot locations with MOM," he added.

Both Dr Koh and Ang stated that NDCA and MOM will continue to work together to conduct checks and safeguard the interests of platform workers.

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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com