30-year-old Singaporean woman charged for owing Myanmar maid $5,700 in salary

Mary-Ann Soh
AsiaOne
17 August 2017

A 30-year-old Singaporean woman, Li Jun, has been slapped with 13 charges for failing to pay her foreign domestic worker's (FDW) salary for close to a year. 

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a statement today (Aug 17) that the Myanmar national was not paid any salary between March 7, 2016 and Feb 21, 2017.

A total of $5,700 was owed to her.

Li has been charged for breaching the Work Permit Conditions under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. 

MOM also barred Li from hiring a foreign domestic worker. 

Li's case will be heard again in court on Sept 12, 2017. If convicted, she can be fined up to $10,000, or face imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both, per charge.

MOM reminds employers that they must pay their domestic worker's salaries on time. In accordance to the Work Permit conditions, an FDW must be paid no later than seven days after the last day of the salary period. Each salary period cannot exceed one month.

Employers must also maintain a monthly salary record paid to their FDWs, and to obtain written acknowledgement from their FDWs.

In addition, employers should not keep the FDW’s salaries on her behalf, and/or make this arrangement as a condition for her employment. Employers should decline any request from their FDWs to help them save their salaries.

If an FDW has not received her salary, she should immediately raise the matter to the employer. If the problem persists and the employer does not settle the salary arrears as promised, the FDW should report the matter to MOM or seek assistance from her employment agency.