SINGAPORE — The authorities said that the educational qualifications of Mr Ramesh Erramalli, the condominium resident who made headlines for verbally abusing a security guard in a viral video last month, were not falsified.

There had been online allegations, based on Mr Erramalli’s purported LinkedIn account, that his qualifications were not legitimate.

In response to media queries, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Friday (Nov 8) in a joint statement that they found “no evidence” to substantiate these allegations after looking into Mr Erramalli’s qualifications.

MOM also revealed that from 2015 to September this year, the ministry — which conducts checks and verifications on work-pass holders — has permanently barred around 3,700 foreigners from working in Singapore due to fake educational qualifications in their work-pass applications.

Of these, 83 foreigners were convicted for false declaration of educational qualifications. Such deceptions are illegal under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, and those found guilty can be jailed for two years, fined up to S$20,000, or both.

“MOM will revoke the work passes of foreign employees found to have submitted forged documents in their work-pass application and permanently bar them from working in Singapore,” its statement said.

The checks by MOM are done as an additional safeguard of Singapore’s work-pass framework, but the primary responsibility to “ensure the authenticity and quality of the academic qualifications” of foreigners ultimately falls on the employers, MOM said.

The ministry added: “Before making an application for a work pass, the employer should have already evaluated the candidate, including his qualifications, to ensure that the applicant has the right skills and qualifications for the position they applied.”

Mr Erramalli is a Singapore citizen who obtained his citizenship under the Family Ties scheme, the Ministry of Home Affairs said last month. He is married to a Singapore-born citizen.

For weeks, the online community fuming over the viral video had slammed Mr Erramalli's behaviour and some also called on his company, investment bank JP Morgan, to fire him. The allegations over his educational qualifications also led many to question the authorities’ ability to detect false certification by foreign educational institutions.

MOM said that it conducts checks through a “combination of verifying mechanisms”.

“MOM takes a risk-based approach towards our credential checks. We conduct additional checks and require submission of verification proof of the qualifications declared in selected applications. MOM verifies the authenticity of submitted qualifications through direct verification with the issuing institutions and through third-party screening agencies.” 

The ministry also receives and acts on reports from employers who discover that they have been misled after the work-pass holder has arrived.