Chu Sau Ben, 59, former CEO and executive chairman of Libra Group Limited and its subsidiaries, was sentenced on June 30, 2025, to five weeks in jail for his role in a fraudulent scheme involving the issuance of fake employment passes. Chu, who led Libra Group, Libra Engineering, and Libra Building Construction from 1997 until 2020, pleaded guilty to one charge under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Two additional charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Libra Group Limited, through its subsidiaries, provided mechanical and electrical engineering services including the installation of air-conditioning, electrical, and plumbing systems. However, in 2018, the company began facing financial troubles. Desperate to attract investment and expand operations overseas, Chu sought external funding.
In 2019, Chu was introduced to Wang Jie, a director at Hai Sin International, a firm that specialized in assisting foreign nationals with investment and immigration opportunities in Singapore. Wang presented a proposal: in exchange for substantial investments, Chu would help two Chinese nationals obtain employment passes through his companies, even though they had no intention of actually working in Singapore.
Wang referred two individuals, Liu Lei and Chen Bingchuan, to Chu. Both were foreign nationals seeking legal residency status in Singapore through fraudulent employment. Chu accepted payments of S$2 million from Chen and at least S$1 million from Liu in exchange for submitting employment pass applications on their behalf.
For Liu Lei, Chu agreed to have Libra Engineering apply for the employment pass. Liu pre-paid S$360,000 to Wang, covering a fictitious salary of S$10,000 a month for three years. On August 15, 2019, a declaration form was submitted to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), falsely stating that Liu would be hired as a regional project manager. The form was signed by Libra Engineering's general manager, acting under Chu's instructions.
Although the employment pass was approved by MOM, investigations later confirmed that Liu never worked for the company and Chu had no further contact with him after the application. Chen's case followed a similar pattern.
Prosecutors Amos Tan and Khong Zi-Wei emphasized the seriousness of the offense, arguing that Chu's actions undermined the integrity of Singapore's work pass framework. They called for a jail sentence of six to eight weeks, noting that the fraudulent activity not only facilitated the misuse of Singapore's immigration system but also made detection extremely difficult. The crime went unnoticed for approximately two years until MOM’s detailed investigations uncovered the deception.
Chu's cooperation with Wang Jie, who faces similar charges and is currently awaiting trial, underscores a broader problem of companies abusing the employment pass system to allow foreigners to reside in Singapore under false pretenses. MOM noted that such actions directly violate the principles of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, which was designed to ensure only genuine and necessary foreign employment in Singapore.
The court found that Chu's motivation was financial gain, with no intention to genuinely employ the foreigners or integrate them into his business operations. For making a false statement to the Controller of Work Passes, Chu could have faced up to two years in jail or a fine of up to S$20,000, or both.
Comments
Post a Comment