Five foreign workers lived, cooked and slept in a rubbish bin centre at Redhill Close as their company failed to make any accommodation arrangements for them. The company - Chang Seng Services Pte Ltd - has been convicted by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and fined a total of $20,000 on Nov 21 for failing to provide acceptable accommodation.

This is not the first time a company has been convicted for failing to provide adequate accommodation arrangements for their workers. Between Jan to Nov this year, 1,052 employers were convicted for failing to provide acceptable housing for their foreign workers.

During this period, MOM conducted an island-wide inspection of 661 premises to ensure that foreign workers are being housed in acceptable conditions. Among these locations, 281 quarters within the dengue/Chikungunya clusters and factory premises were found to be illegally converted into dormitories.

Acting upon these findings, employers have arranged for 1,370 foreign workers to be relocated to approved accommodation by the MOM.

According to MOM, accommodation for foreign workers must meet various statutory requirements, such as proper usage of land, safety standards of buildings, fire and safety standards, environmental health requirements, and drainage/sewerage system requirements.

Mr Aw Kum Cheong, Divisional Director of the Foreign Manpower Management Division, MOM said: "Under the Work Permit conditions, employers must provide foreign workers with acceptable accommodation throughout the period of employment.

"Housing foreign workers in unacceptable living conditions such as in overcrowded premises, endangers their safety and health."

Employers who fail to provide acceptable accommodation for their foreign workers and who breach the Work Permit conditions will face prosecution and may be fined up to $5,000, jailed up to six months or both.

Breaching the conditions might affect future applications for Work Permits as well.