Jerwin Royupa, 21, voluntarily exited a moving vehicle after his employer threatened to take him to the airport or police. He died from injuries. - Photo: JERWIN ROJ CATUGAS ROYUPA/Facebook
MANILA: In February 2019, 21-year-old Filipino national Jerwin Royupa began work at an Australian winery after getting his degree in agriculture, in hopes of supporting his parents after learning the ropes of the industry.
But five weeks later, he was dead, having leapt out of a moving vehicle driven by his employer.
He had been working up to 10 hours a day, six days a week, in the scorching sun. He had not been paid a cent up to that point. His passport had also been seized by his employer.
After an eight-day coroner’s inquest in December 2024, New South Wales Deputy Coroner and Magistrate Rebecca Hosking handed down her findings into Royupa’s death on Friday (Jan 16).
She also referred the case to the federal police, concluding that he had been exploited by his employer and exposed to deplorable, “potentially criminal” behaviour.
Magistrate Hosking said Royupa allegedly exited a moving vehicle voluntarily after his employer allegedly threatened him, reported The Guardian Australia.
Even as he lay unconscious on the side of the road, his employer – who has not been named for legal reasons – failed to call an ambulance immediately.
And after paramedics arrived, the employer disparaged Royupa to a paramedic, and then left the scene despite being told not to.
The young Filipino died on March 15 at the Royal Melbourne Hospital “due to blunt-force injuries”, reported Australian news organisation ABC News.
‘Hardworking and caring and very loving’
According to a Facebook post, Royupa arrived in Australia on Feb 7.
He was on a 407 training visa sponsored by his employer, which allows a candidate to participate in workplace-based occupational training activities.
His family told Yahoo Finance Australia that Royupa was “a sweet and kind guy who was hardworking and caring and very loving to his family”, adding that he was active within his church and dreamt of working there and in the agriculture industry.
Royupa hoped to gain experience in Australia’s agriculture industry and “use these skills to support his parents”, his sister Jessa Joy told ABC News.
“We all thought Jerwin would be safe in Australia. He was not,” said Joy.
In the inquest, Magistrate Hosking said that Royupa was initially promised a “generous allowance”.
However, his employer said he would only be paid A$134.92 (S$116.18) per month, which would be withheld for the first six months of work.
Magistrate Hosking described the allowance as “wholly inadequate”, noting that Royupa was required to work outside in excessive heat without being provided sunscreen and appropriate clothing.
He was also “exclusively” performing manual labour and was not engaged in any educational training that he had been promised.
Owed more than 200 hours of pay, no access to passport
Between March 10 and 14, 2019, just days before his death, Royupa became “fearful” of his employer, said Magistrate Hosking.
At the time, he was already owed more than 200 hours’ worth of pay, and did not have access to his passport. She added that the employer knew he was financially responsible for costs associated with Royupa’s recovery if he were to abscond.
In a series of Facebook posts between March 10 and 13, Royupa reposted several religious quotes, with his final post on March 13 quoting a Bible verse: “The LORD is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?”
On March 14, while Royupa was in a van driven by his employer, he felt threatened when the employer suggested he take Royupa either to the airport or police station, leading to him voluntarily exiting the moving vehicle.
According to Yahoo Finance Australia, the inquest is considered to be the first in the country to examine forced labour concerns since modern slavery offences were introduced into the criminal code in 2013.
Magistrate Hosking provided six recommendations, including referring the inquest to the police for further investigations.
She also recommended that the New South Wales police commissioner liaise with the state’s anti-slavery commissioner on the development and implementation of mandatory modern slavery training for officers operating in “high risk areas” where such conditions may arise.
The magistrate said it had been “inappropriate” for the Department of Home Affairs to approve the training visa, ABC News reported.
She recommended that the Home Affairs Minister conduct an internal review of “the potential lessons learnt”, as well as to consider a formal review into the department’s role in approving subclass 407 training visas, including pay and employment conditions, monitoring and support.
A spokesperson from Department of Home Affairs expressed condolences to the family and friends of Royupa.
“The department is working on strengthened regulations for the training visa to protect visa-holders and will incorporate the coroner’s findings in this work,” said the spokesperson, adding that the department “applies close scrutiny” to all applications in the subclass 407 visa category, with refusal rates for 2025-26 now sitting at 45 per cent. - The Straits Times/ANN
