SINGAPORE: A foreigner who worked illegally for over a year and a half as a delivery rider in Singapore was slapped with a $10,000 fine on Jan 2.
Chinese citizen Zheng Zongren used his friend’s details to create a foodpanda account to work since he is not permitted to sign up himself. Only Singaporeans and permanent residents can legally work as food delivery riders in the city-state.
According to a Shin Min Daily News report, the 35-year-old Zheng worked for one year and eight months, earning $2,000 a month. All in all, his earnings as a food delivery rider in Singapore totalled $40,000.
He told the court during mitigation that his earnings had been necessary to pay his mother’s medical bills. Zheng was fined for one count of contravening the law under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
However, he asked the court if he could stay in Singapore so he could keep on working. The fine he was given is in line with what the prosecution had been seeking, which is between $10,000 and $12,000.
Zheng’s story
When he set up the fake foodpanda account in 2021, Zheng was in Singapore as a work permit holder. He was working as a metalworking machine setter-operator for an engineering firm. Mothership reported that he started delivering food in August of that year.
His desire to make more money motivated him to begin working as a food delivery rider. Zheng knew, however, that he was not eligible to have this kind of work.
Zheng did his sideline after work, handling food delivery orders from 5:30 pm to 11 pm on weekdays. His schedule was also gruelling on weekends, working 10- and 12-hour stints on Saturdays and Sundays, respectively.
He continued to do so until April 2023, when he was questioned by police officers conducting a spot-check. Two months later, the Manpower Ministry initiated a probe into his actions, and his illegal work as a food delivery rider was discovered.
In related news, a foreign citizen was arrested by the police last week. The man had been spotted selling tissue packets and begging outside Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple in Bugis. A Singaporean familiar with the area grew suspicious and called the police.
When he was asked for an ID card, the man gave the police a passport that was said to be from China.
A report in Shin Min Daily News says that in 10 minutes, the man was observed outside the temple, and he was able to make more than S$50 from people who gave him money but did not take any tissue packets from him. /TISG
Read also: Police arrest foreigner selling tissues and begging outside temple at Bugis
