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In tandem, two Singaporeans and one Permanent Resident (PR) were also charged with three counts of alleged abetment of these offences.
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has charged four foreigners on 26 September 2023 with four counts of allegedly working illegally as food delivery riders in Singapore without valid work passes.
In tandem, two Singaporeans and one Permanent Resident (PR) were charged with three counts of alleged abetment of these offences. They had purportedly provided the foreigners with access to their accounts on various food delivery platforms, despite being aware that the foreigners did not have valid work passes to work as food delivery riders. These are offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA).
Details of the charges are as follows:
| Name | Charge | Details |
| Ng Teik Chuan (“Ng”), 36-year-old foreigner | One charge under the EFMA for being a self-employed foreigner without having a valid work pass to do so. | Ng had allegedly worked as a food delivery rider through the MilkRun and LiveExpress platforms from May 2022 to March 2023. |
| Amanullah Faizal Navas (“Amanullah”), 37-year-old foreigner | One charge under the EFMA for being a self-employed foreigner without having a valid work pass to do so. | Amanullah had allegedly worked as a food delivery rider through the FoodPanda platform, using an account belonging to his friend, Mubeen, in March 2023. |
| Chaw Soon Yaw (“Soon Yaw”), 28-year-old foreigner | One charge under the EFMA for being a self-employed foreigner without having a valid work pass to do so. | Soon Yaw had allegedly worked as a food delivery rider through the Deliveroo platform by using an account belonging to his brother, Soon Song from December 2022 to March 2023. |
| Muhammad Syazuwan Bin Sharil (“Syazuwan”), 27-year-old foreigner | One charge under the EFMA for being a self-employed foreigner without having a valid work pass to do so. | Syazuwan had allegedly worked as a food delivery rider through the Deliveroo platform by using an account belonging to his ex-colleague, Low from November 2022 to March 2023. |
| Muhammad Mubeen Muthibbi Bin Sahul Hameed (“Mubeen”), 47-year-old Singapore Citizen | One charge the EFMA for abetting the illegal self-employment of a foreigner who does not have a valid work pass. | Mubeen allegedly lent his FoodPanda account to his friend, Amanullah, in March 2023 which allowed Amanullah to work as a food delivery rider. |
| Chaw Soon Song (“Soon Song”), 23-year-old Singapore Permanent Resident | One charge under the EFMA for abetting the illegal self-employment of a foreigner who does not have a valid work pass. | Soon Song allegedly lent his Deliveroo account to his brother, Soon Yaw, from December 2022 to March 2023, which allowed Soon Yaw to work as a food delivery rider. |
| Low Kim Soon (“Low”), 35-year-old Singapore Citizen | One charge under the EFMA for abetting the illegal self-employment of a foreigner who does not have a valid work pass. | Low allegedly lent his Deliveroo account to his ex-colleague Syazuwan from November 2022 to March 2023, which allowed Syazuwan to work as a food delivery rider. |
Under the EFMA, foreigners who are self-employed without a valid work pass may be liable to a fine not exceeding S$20,000, imprisonment for up to two years, or both. Upon conviction, they will be permanently barred from working in Singapore.
Local delivery platform workers found to have allowed foreigners to use their accounts may also face the same penalties as the former.
MOM has been engaging the major food delivery platforms to enhance their processes and prevent any misuse of accounts by unauthorised parties. The two parties have also worked together on educational messages to advise riders against allowing foreigners to use or share their food delivery accounts, which have been disseminated through the respective platforms’ communication channels.
Lead image / Shutterstock
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