Five workers paid between $2,000 and $4,000 each just to stay employed
A site manager has been jailed for demanding payments from migrant workers as the price of keeping their jobs.
The former manager at Singapore waste management firm 800 Super Waste Management pleaded guilty to five charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) - the law governing foreign worker employment in the city-state. He was sentenced to 49 days' imprisonment, Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced on November 11, 2026.
The arrangement was straightforward. Between June and July 2021, the manager collected between $2,000 and $4,000 from each of five migrant workers. The payments were a condition of their continued employment with the company. Total haul: $18,000.
His position gave him the means. As site manager, he was responsible for recruiting and managing conservancy workers - staff who provided estate cleaning and maintenance services for town councils. He also handled work permit applications and renewals for the foreign workers under him.
The five charges he admitted to were drawn from a much larger pool. He originally faced 24 charges under the EFMA for demanding kickbacks as a condition of employment or continued employment. Nineteen charges were taken into consideration at sentencing - meaning the court weighed them when deciding the penalty, even though he was not formally convicted on each one.
MOM's advisory was blunt. Demanding or receiving employment kickbacks from migrant workers is a serious offence, the ministry said, and it "will not hesitate to take enforcement action against individuals who exploit migrant workers for monetary gain."
The penalties reflect that. Under the EFMA, each charge of demanding or receiving kickbacks carries a fine of up to $30,000, imprisonment for up to two years, or both.
For HR teams managing foreign workers in Asia-Pacific, the case puts a spotlight on site-level management - the layer where work permits are handled, rosters are set, and vulnerable workers have the least bargaining power.
