Saturday, August 26, 2006

Top Glove fined

Well the fine was expected when the law was broken.

Top fine for Top Glove Corp

  • PUTRAJAYA: A whopping RM11.4mil fine! That is the amount that Top Glove Corp Bhd, which was caught with 1,769 illegal workers on Aug 16, will have to pay.

    It is the largest fine ever imposed on an employer for hiring illegal workers in the country’s history.

    Immigration enforcement chief Datuk Ishak Mohamed said the Klang-based glove-making company has also been asked to pay RM2.3mil in outstanding levies for the illegal immigrants they hired.

    Ishak said the previous record fine of RM500,000 was imposed by the Johor Immigration Department on a construction firm for a similar offence in 2000.

    On Aug 16, Ishak led a raid on the factory which was found to have hired more than 1,000 illegal foreign workers who were either working without permits or with expired permits.

    However, the department did not detain any of the illegal workers to ensure that the company, which is public-listed, could fulfil its overseas orders.

    “I urge the public to continue to help the authorities identify unscrupulous employers. In the case of the rubber glove manufacturer, we were successful because we were tipped off,” he added.

    Top Glove executive director K.M. Lee said last night the company would appeal on Monday for a reduced fine.

    “There are a few mitigating factors. Firstly, the workers came in with proper papers. “Not a single one of them came in without a passport,” he said.

    Secondly, it was an administrative failure on the part of the company and it was not intentional. Thirdly, when the company discovered the problem last month, it took steps to renew their papers, he said.
It would be nice to see the law be enforced and that Top Glove's appeal be rejected. The bottom-line is they broke the law and if the authorities are not strict on such issues, how do we expect a better future?

Think about this...

Laws would be totally useless if they can be broken and easily appealed.

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