Singapore: Company manager confines 'troublesome' Indian workers for 40 days

A company manager in Singapore has been fined for wrongfully confining three Indian workers for over 40 days amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A local news agency reported that Shaun Pang Tong Heng first confined the three Indian workers from May 12 to 15 and then over a five-week stretch from May 19 to June 26. The manager from Singapore has pleaded guilty for the wrongful confinement of workers during the pandemic. 

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Company manager confines 3 Indian workers 

A fine of 9,000 Singapore dollars was paid by Shaun Pang Tong Heng for wrongfully confining his worker for more than a month. As per the report published by the agency, the three Indian workers who were confined are Ganesan Pandi, Pandiyan Jakakanthan, and Muthuraj Thangaraj. Lawyer Md Noor E Adenaam representing the 41-year-old company manager told District Judge prem Raj that he is regretful. Shaun saw the men as "troublemakers". 

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The lawyer added that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pandu and Jakakanthan left from their house in Tuas to buy alcohol despite being housed near a COVID-19 cluster. Kakakanthan also drove the company's lorry without having a driving license and Thangaraj was previously caught drunk driving, informed the lawyer. The court was informed that clean beds, a bathroom, Wi-Fi connection, proper meals, and ample water were given to the trio. 

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Responding to this Deputy Public Prosecutor, Eric Hu said that this is no excuse for the manager for the wrongful confinement of the three Indian nationals. Before handing out the sentence, the prosecutor said that the manager should have notified the police authorities about the workers immediately. For each wrongful confinement, an offender can be jailed for about 3-4 years. 

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