Other parties politicised Nee Soon kickbacks case without understanding what happened: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE: Political parties that politicised and made allegations about the migrant worker cleaners in Nee Soon GRC who had to give kickbacks to their manager did so without really understanding what happened, said Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam on Saturday (Feb 1). 

Speaking to journalists at the opening of the newly renovated Nee Soon town council office, Mr Shanmugam said that it was “fair and natural” for Singaporeans, including political parties, to ask questions about the incident. 

“Workers have had to give kickbacks, what did the town council do? But unfortunately, some, not all, political parties as well as online news sites … have gone further and politicised it, and made allegations without really understanding what happened,” he added. 

“It would be better if they had asked first what happened. And it will come out that the whistleblowing system in the town council worked.”

Mr Shanmugam is the anchor minister in Nee Soon GRC, leading the People’s Action Party team there. 

Ho Chiak Hock Derrick, a former operations manager at a conservancy company was sentenced to jail in November 2024 after collecting S$396,440 (US$295,000) in kickbacks from migrant workers for years.

Ho, 55, was given a 24 weeks' jail sentence after pleading guilty to 20 charges, with 41 other charges taken into account for sentencing.

Ho worked as an operations manager for Lian Cheng Contracting, where he illegally collected between S$1,500 to S$15,500 from workers under his charge, for the renewal of their work permits and continued employment at the company.

The Straits Times reported on Friday that the case came to light after an anonymous complaint from a member of the public about migrant worker cleaners in Nee Soon GRC giving money to their manager. 

In a Facebook post on Friday, Red Dot United called the matter “troubling” and “utterly unacceptable”. 

The party, led by Ravi Philemon, is active in Nee Soon GRC. The post questioned how Member of Parliament Louis Ng, who has campaigned for migrant worker rights over the years, let the abuse of workers go unnoticed. 

“This case underscores the need for greater scrutiny of the town council’s role in overseeing its contractors,” said Red Dot United in the Facebook post. 

Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh also took to Facebook, sharing a speech he had made in 2021 proposing changes to the law to “get a better grip” on kickbacks. 

He also invited those with any information on such cases, including companies contracted by the Aljunied-Hougang or Sengkang town councils, to report the matter to the authorities. 

Mr Shanmugam said on Saturday that the MPs came to know of the issue through the whistleblowing system and “immediately directed” that the case should be investigated.

“We told the town council. This is serious; we want it investigated. Send it to MOM (Ministry of Manpower) and we want to make sure that proper action is taken.” 

The “key thing” is that the workers’ rights were protected, he added. 

“We wouldn’t have said, ‘The MPs were the ones who did it,’ but given the allegations that were made, it has given us an opportunity to talk about what actually happened.” 

The town council continued to work with the contractor because investigations showed that one person was the problem, said Mr Shanmugam. 

“It’s an individual, he has been punished, and since 2021 … the company has been taken over by somebody else. You don’t punish all the others. It employs many Singaporean workers. Their livelihoods, their families - you need to think about that too,” he said. 

“You need to balance the punishment with impact on other innocent people. Let’s not politicise all of these things,” Mr Shanmugam said, adding that the company has implemented new, “fairly strict” protocols. 

This does not mean that these things will not happen in Nee Soon or elsewhere, he said. 

“When it happens, you should take action. What matters is the integrity and honesty of the MPs. You don’t say things which are not true.”