Dormitory operator KT Mesdorm has been fined S$300,000 for housing over 5,000 foreign workers in unsanitary living quarters crawling with cockroaches.
KT Mesdorm pleaded guilty to 30 charges in the State Courts on Tuesday (May 31), and became the first dormitory operator to be prosecuted and convicted for flouting the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a press release on Wednesday.
According to the MOM, KT Mesdorm housed foreign workers from three companies in the Blue Stars Dormitory which it operates off Pioneer Road North.
The dormitory is only permitted to house up to 4,500 workers. But a joint inspection by the MOM and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers on July 30 last year found 5,098 bed spaces and 5,042 foreign workers residing at Blue Stars Dormitory.
The MOM said that by housing 500 more workers than the allowed limit, KT Mesdorm had caused the dormitory’s infrastructure and amenities to be over-taxed, resulting in “overcrowded, unsanitary and unhygienic living conditions” as well as “severe compromise of the health and well-being of the workers”.
“This is a serious breach as overcrowding compromises fire safety and conditions of living. Employers who house their workers in purpose-built dormitories expect dormitory operators to adhere to all regulatory requirements. We will continue to step up housing inspections and take stern action where appropriate,” said Ms Jeanette Har, Director, Well-Being Department of MOM’s Foreign Manpower Management Division.
The dormitory operator has since taken steps to rectify the issue and to improve living conditions in the dormitory, added the authorities.
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