Man jailed 16 weeks for phantom worker offences

A SELF-EMPLOYED man was yesterday jailed for 16 weeks for phantom worker violations.

Ng Seah Ngee, 51, was also fined $3,000 for operating an unlicensed employment agency between 2007 and 2009.

Ng, who faced a total of 159 charges, had admitted to 13 charges of conspiring with the directors of Viquest Technology - which offers plastic injection moulding services - in 2007 to make false statements to the Controller of Work Passes in applications for work permits for foreign employees.

He also admitted to five charges of intentionally aiding to make false statements to the controller, and one charge of stating that a Malaysian worker would be employed by a company as a welder and flame cutter when there was no intention to hire him.

The court heard that in mid-2007, Ng offered to get foreign workers for Viquest.

Realising that the company did not have enough local workers to justify employing more foreigners, Ng provided Viquest with a list of local phantom workers.

In mitigation, defence lawyer Daniel Atticus Xu said his client helped companies in need of foreign workers by finding phantom workers who were unemployed Singaporeans to fill the quota.

 The companies would then contribute to their Central Provident Fund accounts.