5.
—(1) No person shall employ a foreign worker unless he has obtained in respect of the foreign worker a valid work permit which allows the foreign worker to work for him.
(2) No foreign worker shall be in the employment of an employer without a valid work permit.
(3) No person shall employ a foreign worker otherwise than in accordance with the conditions of the work permit.
(4) Any person who fails to comply with or contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall —
(a)
be liable on conviction to a fine of an amount of not less than 24 months’ levy and not more than 48 months’ levy or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both; and
(b)
on a second or subsequent conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than one month and not more than one year and shall also be liable to a fine of an amount of not less than 24 months’ levy and not more than 48 months’ levy.
(5) For the purpose of subsection (4) —
(a)
“levy” means the monthly rate of levy applicable to the foreign worker at the date when he was found to be working without a valid work permit, and a certificate issued by the Controller and tendered in court shall be prima facie evidence of such rate;
(b)
a conviction of an employer for an offence under section 8(1) of the repealed Regulation of Employment Act (Cap. 272) shall not be considered a previous conviction.
(6) When any offence under subsection (1) committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(7) Any person who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.
(8) For the purpose of this section, all convictions for the contravention of subsection (1) entered against an employer at one and the same trial shall be deemed to be one conviction.