Documentation Of Indians In Singapore Being Verified By New Delhi-based Firm

30 Jan 2014

A New Delhi-based firm has been hired by Singapore to hunt for Indians who present fraudulent documentation in their Singapore work permit applications.

The Straits Times reported that Dataflow Services was hired by Manpower ministry to organize random checks on employment history and education certificates, and scrutinize marriage and birth certificates of Indian citizens working in Singapore.

The Singapore daily said, while citing sources, that Dataflow is hired on a one-year contract and per year, it is expected to handle 500 to 600 checks, spending a maximum of 4 weeks on each case and not more than that. Each check costs about 100 Singapore dollars.

The ministry said that though it is the responsibility of employers to ensure genuine documents, it will use ‘independent verifications channels’ like Dataflow to organize random audits to check the work permit applications of people working in Singapore.

48 foreigners were prosecuted in court in 2012, for lying about their educational qualifications, and in the 2^nd half of 2013, 28 foreigners were prosecuted.

In 2012, the law was changed to restrain false declaration of educational certificates in securing employment in Singapore.

Submitting fake educational certificate to work in Singapore carries a jail sentence of up to two years and a fine of 20,000, Singapore dollars or both. Any employers who are involved in such cases may also be banned from employing foreign workers.

Since 2013 February, the ministry has taken similar strict checks on employees from China.