It was an incident that was entirely preventable but the lives of four foreign workers perished and several others were injured in a fire at a shophouse in the wee hours of 6 December 2014.
As a result of the incident, three directors and their respective companies were fined a total of $153,000 by the Court on 22 June 2018 under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
MOM has also barred all the convicted parties from employing foreign workers.
They are Ong Lai Kar, Director of Essential Clean and Care Pte Ltd, Ong Huay Chew, Director of Seng Foo Building Construction Pte Ltd, and Koh Kok Seng, Director of Bestway Cleaning Services Pte Ltd.
The fire incident
According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) the three employers had been housing their foreign workers at a shophouse in Lorong 4 Geylang since August 2014.
There were 22 foreign workers staying in the premises when the fire broke out, more than the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s occupancy cap of eight people.
MWC In Action
The Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) also issued a statement in response to the Court verdict.
According to the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) Chairman Yeo Guat Kwang, the employers have “more than a simple duty to comply with our manpower laws, but in fact a solemn bond to their workers, and to their families, that they will be valued, protected and properly looked after while here in Singapore.”
Some of the workers in this case were sole-breadwinners of their families and for their dependants.
MWC has heightened its vigilance of unacceptable housing for migrant workers with a lookout for fire hazards.
Mr Yeo added: “We will continue this effort as long as there remain employers who see no wrong in endangering the welfare and livelihoods of their workers. We also urge members of the public to come forward and report such cases to the authorities or to us, so that we may be able to intervene earlier and prevent such tragic loss of life.”
Foreign workers who have issues with their accommodation can seek the advice of MWC at 6536 2692 or report the matter to MOM at 6438 5122.
