150 FOREIGNERS IN SINGAPORE SENT TO JAIL FOR FALSE CREDENTIALS

 

SINGAPORE - Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin(photo) has revealed that about 150 foreigners in Singapore have been sent to jail since 2012 for false credentials.
He said this in a written reply to a question raised in Parliament by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Gerald Giam Yean Song.
Mr Giam, from the Workers' Party, had asked the minister what are the Government's plans to facilitate credential checks on foreigners coming to work in Singapore, in light of cases of foreigners on employment passes who have been revealed to have used false fake credentials.
Mr Tan said that the Government had tightened its legislation in 2012 and increased penalties for making false statements or submitting false documents in support of work pass applications. 
Offenders may be fined up to $20,000, and may be imprisoned up to two years.
He said that since 2012 to the first half of this year, the Government has successfully prosecuted about 150 foreigners, and that all those prosecuted were sentenced to imprisonment terms, and had their work pass revoked and barred from working in Singapore.
He also said that the Government has stregthened its credential checks by supplementing checks with third-party overseas screening agencies and verifying certificates directly with issuing institutions.

Source: AsiaOne