SINGAPORE — The maximum S$10,000 penalty for employers who deploy their maids illegally will not be reviewed.

Instead, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is reviewing its guidelines to see if cases presently resolved with a warning should, in the future, be subject to a financial penalty.

Ms Gan Siow Huang, Minister of State for Manpower, made these statements on Thursday (Oct 15) in an update to Parliament on the MOM review, which is under way.

She was responding to a question filed by Mr Louis Ng, Member of Parliament for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency, who asked whether MOM will consider increasing the S$10,000 fine that may be imposed on such errant employers. 

Ms Gan said that the move under consideration, to subject employers to a financial penalty in future, was so that employers would take their responsibility towards their domestic workers seriously.

Her comments follow a public outcry over the case involving the family of businessman Liew Mun Leong, the former chairman of Changi Airport Group, and his ex-domestic worker Parti Liyani.

MOM had issued a warning to Mr Liew’s wife Ng Lai Peng and an advisory to his son Karl Liew in May 2018. These were for making Ms Parti work illegally at other premises, including Mr Karl Liew’s home and office.

No action was taken against Mr Liew Mun Leong. 

Ms Parti was last month acquitted of stealing S$34,000 worth of items from the Liew household.

MOM said earlier that a caution is akin to a stern police warning and sends a strong message to employers that they must comply with the law or face tougher enforcement.

Ms Gan reiterated that between 2017 and last year, 16 employers were issued with financial penalties each year, ranging from S$3,300 to S$24,000. 

This number has stayed “relatively stable” over the last few years, she added.

Apart from being fined, employers may also be barred from hiring domestic helpers. 

“While the current administrative financial penalty is kept at S$10,000, the eventual penalty takes into consideration the severity of the infringement and the number of counts of the infringement that is committed,” she said.

Asked by Mr Ng whether non-governmental organisations would be consulted as part of the review, Ms Gan said that MOM was in the process of consulting various parties, including employers and centres overseeing the welfare of domestic workers.