Directors of recruitment firms in Singapore charged for fraud

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Singapore has reported that  two Singaporean businessmen - Terry Tan-Soo I-Hse (39 years old) and Clarence Lim Jun Yao (30 year old) were jointly charged by the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force and Ministry of Manpower.

In the report, it stated that they face a total of 442 charges for operating and using three sham companies to fraudulently collect fees from over 300 foreign job-seekers - when there were no actual jobs.

Tan-Soo was the director of an employment agency Asia Recruit, while Lim was the director of Asiajobmart and UUBR International.

Both Tan-Soo and Lim face charges for fraudulent trading under the Companies Act, which were investigated by the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force. The duo also face charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, while Tan-Soo face additional charges under the Employment Agencies Act, of which both offences were investigated by MOM.

According to the release, investigations revealed that Tan-Soo and Lim submitted a total of 449 work pass applications to MOM, of which, 445 applications were rejected. MOM has imposed a ban on Lim, Asiajobmart and UUBR, from employing any new foreign workers and from renewing any work passes. Asia Recruit’s employment agency (EA) licence has also been suspended.

If convicted under Section 340(5) the Companies Act, the accused persons may be sentenced to imprisonment for up to seven years, or a fine of up to $15,000, or both, per charge. If convicted for false declaration offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, the accused persons may be sentenced to imprisonment for up to two years, or a fine of up to $20,000, or both, per charge.

If convicted for a breach of licensing conditions under the Employment Agencies Act, the accused persons may be sentenced to imprisonment for up to six months, or a fine of up to $5,000, or both, per charge. In addition, their EA licence will be revoked.

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