Worker says he was just helping colleagues send money home. Was he operating an illegal business or simply assisting desperate colleagues?
The Singapore Magistrates Court recently dealt with a case involving a Bangladeshi construction worker who faced charges under both the Payment Services Act 2019 and the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
The charges stemmed from his involvement in transferring money for fellow workers during the circuit breaker lockdown period between June and October 2020, when his POSB bank account received at least S$196,123 from various depositors.
The worker argued that he was not operating any payment services but was assisting colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic to send their earnings to their families back home.
He said he acted without receiving any payment, fee, or commission, purely to help fellow workers who could not access traditional remittance services during the lockdown restrictions.
The prosecution argued that the frequency and magnitude of transactions showed the worker had carried on a business of providing domestic payment services, maintaining that profitability was irrelevant.
The events took place during Singapore's circuit breaker lockdown from 7 April to 1 June 2020, though the charged conduct extended to October 2020. The court noted that it was "a particularly difficult period for the foreign workers staying in the dormitories".
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