BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Two local company owners were fined by the Magistrate’s Court on Aug 21 after pleading guilty to failing to pay salaries owed to their foreign workers, according to a press release from the Labour Department, Ministry of Home Affairs.
Awang Mohammad Khairul Anam Sulaiman, 38, and Mohd Asyraf Sisa/Isa, 42, both owners of Qharrof Sdn Bhd, admitted Aug 21 2025 to four charges under Section 39(1), Employment Order 2009, for withholding the wages of two foreign employees for September and October 2024.
Investigations by the Labour Department’s Law Enforcement Division in Belait revealed that the company failed to pay the two workers for five consecutive months, from June to October 2024. Each worker was owed BND2,500.
The employers had only partially settled three months’ salaries, amounting to BND1,500 each, through proceeds from the sale of company assets. The outstanding balance of BND1,000 per worker remains unpaid.
On Aug 23, 2025, both men were sentenced under Section 148 of the Employment Order 2009 to a fine of BND1,200 each, or one month’s imprisonment in default of payment. They were given until Sept 23, 2025 to settle the fines.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Syazwani Jumat before Magistrate Sharifah Nur Baqiyah Malai Shahran.
The Labour Department reminded all employers to uphold the welfare and rights of their workers, particularly in ensuring timely payment of wages as mandated by law.
Members of the public are urged to report labour violations by calling the department’s enforcement hotline at 7298989 or emailing info.buruh@buruh.gov.bn - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
