On 24 May 2021, TSMP Law Corporation head of employment and labour Ian Lim was quoted in an article published by The Straits Times on cases of false declaration of migrant worker salaries rising. He explained to readers the difference between such illegal acts and other regular salary disputes.

Ian said false declarations of salaries may overlap with regular salary disputes.

Such disputes – which usually involve an employer failing to pay an employee’s agreed salary – are Employment Act offences but are also generally seen as private contractual matters and left to employees to pursue, mainly through TADM and the Employment Claims Tribunals, he said.

He also added that false salary declaration offences can be tough to detect, he added.

But once discovered, they are usually prosecuted as they involve employers lying to the authorities, circumventing the law and bringing in more foreign workers than they otherwise could.