SINGAPORE: The director of several companies that owe wages to more than 400 migrant workers has been declared bankrupt.
A bankruptcy order was made against Indian national and Singapore permanent resident Ramu Palani Velu on Aug 13.
He is the director of seven local companies that provide air-conditioning, plumbing and building services.
They include KPA Engineering, SK Industries and VVR Plant Engineering.
A total of 407 workers from these companies lodged claims for unpaid wages, with some having not been paid for more than two months.
Signs of trouble began to show when five workers from KPA Engineering had, at different points in 2025, approached the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management.
The cases were resolved within a week, with the workers receiving payment from their employer.
But in May and June 2026, four other workers from KPA Engineering filed claims for salaries owed.
The cases were in the midst of being processed when, on June 22, more than 100 workers turned up at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) office in Bendemeer seeking help.
By then, MOM was already aware of claims of unpaid salaries after having spoken to KPA Engineering employees affected by a dormitory eviction notice on June 8.
The authorities had been trying to contact the company’s directors even before the workers approached MOM en masse on June 22.
As the unpaid wages case made headlines, it was revealed that Ramu had been out of the country.
He returned on June 26 and is assisting MOM with investigations.
According to records from the Ministry of Law’s Insolvency Office, Ramu applied for bankruptcy on July 9.
AAG Corporate Advisory is listed as the trustee.
Employers who fail to pay salaries may face fines of between S$3,000 and S$15,000 per charge, and up to six months’ jail. - The Straits Times/ANN
