Clause 17

Any person who —

being an employer, a foreign employee or a self‑employed foreigner to whom a work pass applies or had applied, contravenes any condition (other than a regulatory condition) of the work pass or in-principle approval of the application for the work pass;

contravenes section 13(4);

wilfully obstructs an authorised officer or employment inspector in the exercise of his powers under section 16, 21, 21A, 21B, 21C, 21E or 21F (as applicable);

in connection with any application for or to renew a work pass or for any other purpose under this Act, makes any statement or furnishes any information to the Controller or an authorised officer or employment inspector which he knows, or ought reasonably to know, is false in any material particular or is misleading by reason of the omission of any material particular;

sells, forges, unlawfully alters or, without lawful authority, transfers or allows another person to use any in‑principle approval or work pass;

uses or, without lawful authority, has in his possession any in-principle approval or work pass that is forged or unlawfully altered, or which is issued to another person; or

contravenes section 13(1), (2) or (3), 14 or 17(1) or (3),shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —

in the case of an offence under paragraph (a), (b) or (c), to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both;

in the case of an offence under paragraph (d), (e) or (f), to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both; and

in the case of an offence under paragraph (g), to a fine not exceeding $10,000.(2) Any employer, foreign employee, self-employed foreigner, or any agent involved in the employment of the foreign employee or the engagement of the self-employed foreigner, who —

knows, or has reason to believe, that an offence has been committed under subsection (1)(d); and

intentionally omits to furnish any information to the Controller in respect of that offence,shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.(3) Any foreign employee or self-employed foreigner who makes any statement or submits any document to the Controller under this Act relating to his qualifications which he knows or ought reasonably to know is false in any material particular, or is misleading by reason of the omission of any material particular, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.(4) Any employer of a foreign employee or any agent involved in the employment of the foreign employee, or any agent involved in the engagement of a self-employed foreigner, who —

knows, or has reason to believe, that an offence has been committed by the foreign employee or self‑employed foreigner, as the case may be, under subsection (3); and

intentionally omits to furnish any information to the Controller in respect of that offence,shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.Restrictions on receipt, etc., of moneys in connection with employment of foreign employee22A.—

No person shall deduct from any salary payable to a foreign employee, or demand or receive, directly or indirectly and whether in Singapore or elsewhere, from a foreign employee any sum or other benefit —

as consideration or as a condition for the employment of the foreign employee, whether by that person or any other person;

as consideration or as a condition for the continued employment of the foreign employee, whether by that person or any other person; or

as a financial guarantee related, in any way, to the employment of the foreign employee, whether by that person or any other person.(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $30,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.(3) Any person who deducts from any salary payable to a foreign employee, or demands or receives, directly or indirectly and whether in Singapore or elsewhere, from a foreign employee any sum or other benefit, not being —

the whole or part of any fee, cost, levy, penalty, charge or amount that the employer of the foreign employee shall bear and be liable to pay under section 25(6);

the whole or part of any fee or deduction prescribed as recoverable from the foreign employee under section 25(6)(a);

where sections 26 to 32 of the Employment Act (Cap. 91) apply to the foreign employee, the whole or part of any deduction from the salary of the foreign employee authorised to be made under those sections;

where sections 26 to 32 of the Employment Act do not apply to the foreign employee, the whole or part of any deduction from the salary of the foreign employee made in accordance with the terms of the employment of the foreign employee; or

the whole or part of any fee, remuneration, profit or compensation that a licensee under the Employment Agencies Act (Cap. 92) may lawfully charge the foreign employee and receive under that Act,shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have done so as consideration for the employment of the foreign employee.Proscribed manpower-related practices22B.—

Any person who —

obtains a work pass for a foreign employee for a trade or business that does not exist, that is not in operation or that does not require the employment of such a foreign employee; and

fails to employ the foreign employee,shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than 6 months and not more than 2 years and shall also be liable to a fine not exceeding $6,000.(2) Where any person is —

charged with more than 5 offences under subsection (1); and

convicted of at least 6 of those offences at the same trial,the person shall be punished, subject to sections 325(1) and 330(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68), with caning in addition to the punishment prescribed for those offences.(3) Where, by virtue of sections 325(1) and 330(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the person referred to in subsection (2) is not punishable with caning, he shall, in lieu of caning, be punished with a fine not exceeding $10,000.”.