A 33-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man will be charged in court on Tuesday (May 28) for allegedly organising illegal public assemblies involving foreign workers, according to a joint statement from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Monday.
The woman is accused of instructing 15 foreign workers under her employment to gather outside two construction sites on October 24, 2024, to demand payments allegedly owed to her company.
She reportedly told the workers to hold placards at both sites — one at Jalan Satu and another at Tengah Garden Walk— to draw attention to the issue.
At Jalan Satu, she allegedly gave four placards to six workers. For the second location, she used a delivery service to send another four placards to nine other workers with similar instructions.
The man, who is being charged alongside her, is said to have gone to the second site to make sure the workers followed her instructions.
Neither the duo nor the workers had applied for a police permit, which is required under Section 7 of the Public Order Act for any public assembly in Singapore.
Foreign workers not in trouble
Authorities have decided not to take further action against the 15 foreign workers, stating they were acting under their employer’s instructions and had no intent to break the law.
In fact, MOM previously clarified in a Facebook post last October that it had looked into the incident after a social media post surfaced, showing the placard-holding workers.
The workers later confirmed that they were not owed salary payments and had no welfare concerns.
Then-Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam also addressed the matter in Parliament, adding that MOM was investigating the employer for illegally deploying the workers and instructing them to carry out unlawful acts.
What penalties could they face?
- Public Order Act: Organising a public assembly without a police permit can result in a fine of up to S$5,000.
- Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA): Abetting a foreign employee to break the conditions of their work pass can lead to up to 12 months’ jail, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both.
MOM and SPF reminded the public: Any form of public assembly requires a police permit, and organising one without it is a serious offence, regardless of intent.
