• Mr Rahman Mohammad Hasibur is claiming S$215,000 in damages for being falsely imprisoned for 43 hours
• Some of the men were running fevers in the hot and poorly ventilated room, according to his statement of claim
• Mr Rahman said he hopes to deter such acts from happening again

SINGAPORE — A construction worker has sued his employer and dormitory operator for being forcibly locked up with about 20 other migrant workers after their roommate tested positive for Covid-19.

Mr Rahman Mohammad Hasibur, a Bangladeshi, filed a claim last Monday (Dec 28) for S$215,000 in damages for being falsely imprisoned in a dormitory room for 43 hours and emotional distress suffered.

The lawyers of the dormitory operator, Joylicious Management, said that their client denies all the plaintiff's claims and intends to “defend against (them) to the hilt”. TODAY has also reached out to the employer, V Spec Engineering & Supplies, for a response. 

The dormitory in Tuas had come under fire last year after migrant workers rights group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) said on its Facebook page that it received a “distress call” that a group of foreign workers had been locked up for days.

The exact period they were confined for had been a subject of dispute — a dormitory manager told TODAY previously that the men had been locked in the room for “less than 24 hours”.

In Mr Rahman’s statement of claim seen by TODAY, he alleges that he was locked up from around 10pm on April 19, a day after a roommate tested positive, to around 5pm on April 21.

He had to call the guardhouse each time he wanted to use the toilet, and guards would take 10 to 15 minutes to reach the room to escort them there, his lawyers from law firm Eugene Thuraisingam said in the statement.

Some of the men were running fevers in the hot and poorly ventilated room. They were transferred to a new room that was also locked from the outside on the afternoon of April 21 and were freed only after the police unlocked the door at 5pm.

“(Rahman) and his fellow migrant workers were robbed of their dignity and deprived of their fundamental human rights during the false imprisonment,” his lawyers said.

The Joylicious dormitory manager, who wanted to be known only as Mr Thng, told TODAY then that they had “no choice” but to do so for the safety of some 800 workers staying there.

V Spec design director Reena Wong had also sent an email to TWC2, asking the rights group to take its posts down and apologise.

In it, she elaborated on the trouble that the two allegedly problematic workers were causing, stating that the company may be compelled to take legal action against them.

“We believe two of our employees on work permit… have been spreading false media claims and making a riot internally,” she said in the email. “For example, they had informed others that a fight had taken place inside the dormitory. I had checked with our other employees in the same dormitory and found that it is not true.”

A few days after the men were released, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) issued a stern warning to Joylicious.

“The dormitory operator was advised that it is unacceptable to forcibly confine the workers to their room,” MOM said then.

It added that V Spec, which consented to the confinement, would also not be allowed to hire new foreign workers, pending police investigations.

Mr Rahman, who has since returned to Bangladesh, said in a statement: “Should I succeed in my action, I hope that it will deter other employers and dormitory operators from similar actions towards their employees and residents in their care.”