Reviewing Future Work Permit Applications of Departed Migrant Domestic Workers Under Unresolved Police Investigation

Ms Diana Pang Li Yen asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry is informed when a migrant domestic worker leaves Singapore while a police investigation involving the worker remains unresolved; (b) whether the matter will be flagged for further assessment in any future Work Permit application involving the worker; and (c) what safeguards apply where there is no criminal conviction or other formal finding of wrongdoing.

Ms Jasmin Lau: The Singapore Police Force will notify the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) when a migrant domestic worker (MDW) is suspected to have committed a criminal offence, regardless of whether or not the MDW has left Singapore. Where MDWs who are being investigated by the Police are assessed to be of flight risk, their passport may be impounded to prevent them from leaving Singapore during investigation. Information provided by the Police on an MDW's involvement in investigation will be taken into consideration in the assessment of any future work permit applications for the MDW.

To help prospective employers to make an informed decision in hiring an MDW, MOM allows past employers to provide their contact details and serve as a referee for their ex-MDWs. When applying to hire an MDW, prospective employers can check the foreign domestic worker eService and reach out to past employers who have offered to be referees to find out about their experience with hiring the MDW.