Restaurant chain founder jailed, fined for work pass offences

He underpaid 13 foreigners hired as S Pass, Employment Pass staff, falsely stated pay

- Wong Shiying

AT THE COURTS The founder of a chain of popular restaurants operated by The Malayan Council was on Aug 27 sentenced to 29 weeks' jail and a fine of $22,000 for a slew of offences related to work pass breaches.

Mohamad Hafiz Salim Alkhatib, 38, needed workers but could not hire them with work permits as he did not meet the required manpower quota.

Under current regulations, the total number of work permit and S Pass holders hired by a food and beverage business cannot exceed 35 per cent of its workforce.

Hafiz circumvented the rules by hiring 13 foreign workers through an agent as S Pass and Employment Pass employees between 2018 and 2019 and then underpaying them.

At the time, S Pass holders had to be paid more than $2,500 a month, while Employment Pass holders were to draw more than $3,500 a month.

Hafiz paid the 13 workers only between $1,400 and $1,600 a month each, but falsely declared to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) that they were receiving between $2,600 and $5,900 each.