Derrick Ho Chiak Hock sentenced for exploiting migrant workers with illegal renewal fees for their work permits.
SINGAPORE – Derrick Ho Chiak Hock, a 55-year-old former operations manager, was sentenced to 24 weeks in jail for demanding nearly $400,000 from 57 migrant workers in exchange for renewing their work passes. Ho’s actions, spanning from 2014 to 2020, are among the largest kickback cases investigated by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Ho, who was in charge of maintenance for Housing Board estates under Lian Cheng Contracting, collected kickbacks ranging from $1,500 to $3,000 per worker for the renewal of their work permits. These workers, whose monthly earnings averaged between $350 and $500, were forced into debt, with no choice but to pay the fees out of fear of losing their jobs.
The investigation revealed that Ho had devised this scheme with a former colleague, Rakibul, in 2014. For every $1,500 collected, Ho took a $1,000 cut, while Rakibul kept the remaining amount. When Rakibul left Singapore in 2018, Ho enlisted another supervisor, Shamim, to continue collecting fees, and later roped in other workers, including Dhar Newton and Ahamed Rana.
During a raid in 2020, authorities uncovered $326,305 in cash in Ho’s safe. The prosecution argued that Ho’s actions were driven solely by greed, exploiting the vulnerability of migrant workers.
In mitigation, Ho’s lawyer claimed that he expressed remorse for his actions and had made partial restitution of $69,135. Despite his defense, the prosecution maintained that Ho’s scheme had caused significant harm to the workers, and the court handed down a sentence of 24 weeks’ imprisonment.
MOM affirmed its commitment to taking stringent action against such illegal practices, with officials warning that employers demanding payments from workers will face severe penalties.
