Officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) arrested the men, aged 21 to 43, on March 10 during a joint enforcement operation targeting restaurants and food stalls suspected of hiring immigration offenders, the agencies said in a March 16 press release.
Two Singaporean men who allegedly employed two of the 11 are also under investigation by ICA. Authorities said further investigations are ongoing to identify other individuals who may have harbored or employed the offenders.
Two work permit holders and one S Pass holder are separately under investigation by MOM for possible employment offenses, the release said.
Singapore enforces some of the harshest penalties in the world for immigration violations. Overstayers face up to six months in jail and a mandatory minimum of three strokes of the cane, or a fine of up to S$6,000 (US$4,700). Offenders are deported and permanently barred from re-entering the country after serving their sentences.
The penalties extend well beyond the offenders themselves. Employers found guilty of hiring overstayers or illegal immigrants face a mandatory minimum of six months in jail, up to a maximum of two years, plus a fine of up to S$6,000.
Anyone convicted of recklessly or knowingly harboring immigration offenders faces the same sentence. Even negligent harboring, where the person did not actively know but failed to check, carries up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to S$6,000, or both.
Under Singapore’s Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, employers who hire foreign workers without valid work passes face a fine of up to S$30,000 or up to 12 months in jail, or both, per charge, MOM said. They may also be barred from employing foreign workers entirely.
Foreign workers who take up employment without a valid pass face a fine of up to S$20,000 or up to two years in jail, or both, and are barred from working in Singapore upon conviction.
The March 10 operation was the second major immigration crackdown in Singapore in just over a week. On March 3, ICA arrested 13 Indian nationals and one suspected harborer in the Hougang area, according to a separate ICA press release.
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