Announcement and status
Exclaim director Poh Jinxiang was convicted of illegal employment and immigration offences and sentenced on 25 September 2023 to a S$8,000 fine and nine months and two weeks in prison. Han Shez Lyii Michelle had separately received a S$5,000 illegal-work fine and an overstaying warning, then was deported and barred from re-entry.
Case details and examples
Michelle stayed after her November 2020 visit-pass expiry. Her work-pass application and appeal had been rejected. Poh employed her as an interior executive, housed her and misled ICA about her whereabouts after sending her elsewhere to avoid arrest.
Official advisory and follow-up
The advisory distinguishes illegal hiring from knowingly, recklessly or negligently harbouring immigration offenders, with different statutory consequences. Employers must verify valid employment and immigration status; a pending or unsuccessful application does not permit work. MOM and ICA reporting channels are retained in the official source.
Harbouring offences described in the release
The immigration advisory distinguishes reckless or knowing harbouring, which may attract six months to two years and a fine up to S$6,000, from negligent harbouring, which may attract up to S$6,000 or 12 months or both. These are the release’s potential statutory consequences, separate from Poh’s actual sentence.
Official source
This report is independently written from the MOM release dated above. Case status, policy announcements and historical figures refer to that release.
Read the complete MOM release ↗