A Chinese man’s salary dispute with Budi Centre brought a
secret of his to light. (Photo: The New Paper)
Using fake documents, a Chinese national managed to work in
Singapore on the pretext of being a monk.
For nine months, Mr Liu Bing worked as a monk at a Buddhist
centre in Geylang.
The 38-year-old from Shandong province claimed he went through
an agent in China who provided him with the fake documents to get
employment as a worker in religion.
Mr Liu said he did general cleaning work under the guise of a
monk while working at the
Budi Centre, which is currently being investigated by the
Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Paper trail
His counterfeit documents included a “certificate” with a photo
of him in monk’s robes, stating he was initiated into monkhood in
the Shandong Weifang Foshan Buddhist Temple in 2008. It also bears
the seal of the “Shandong Province Buddhists Association”.
There was also an additional “document” allegedly issued by the
Linqu Notary Public Office, in Shandong, stating that the embossing
seal in the first certificate is authentic. Mr Liu also had English
translations of the documents.
However, a closer look at the “certificate” shows that it could
have been printed on ordinary paper using an inkjet printer. Also,
a printed photo of another man showed underneath the passport-size
photo of Mr Liu.
The photo of him in monk’s robes appears to be the same one used
in his passport, where he’s seen dressed in ordinary clothes. Mr
Liu told The New Paper that the agent had used a computer
to “paste” his face onto someone else’s body wearing the monk’s
robes.
“The agent told me that if I pretended to be a monk, I could
make $1,000 a month doing odd jobs in a Buddhist centre in
Singapore. If I worked elsewhere in Singapore, I would earn only
$700.”
“I asked him if this was okay, and the agent assured me that
foreign workers in Singapore used fake documents all the time,” he
said. The father of two children, aged 12 and two, added that he
went along with the plan as the salary was tempting.
After arriving in Singapore
In July 2009, Mr Liu arrived at Changi Airport dressed in
ordinary clothes, but he later changed into the monk’s robes to
look convincing when he passed through immigration.
He also started work at the Budi Centre that month. His job
included cleaning the floors and learning to cook for worshippers.
But he did not speak to the worshippers as he had no religion and
knew nothing about Buddhist teachings.
During his work from 7 am to 7:30 pm daily, Mr Liu would wear a
white T-shirt and grey trousers instead of the monk’s robes. He
expressed his discomfort in having to impersonate as a monk and
claimed that it was like being “in prison”. He could not leave the
centre at night and “hated” wearing the robes as they were “too
warm”.
The fake documents came to light only after he got involved in a
salary dispute with the centre.
Mr Liu said that during the first nine months, his monthly
salary of $700 was paid to the agent as “agent fees”. When he would
have been entitled to his full salary, the centre dismissed him for
no apparent reason.
He also alleged that the centre did not pay him for overtime
work and for working on weekends and public holidays. He had
approached the MOM regarding his salary dispute and after he
revealed using fake documents, he was investigated.
After leaving the centre, he became a packer and was at the same
time assisting MOM with investigations. He has since stopped work
and said that he will be deported back to China on Saturday.
His words of caution
An MOM spokesman said that the ministry will investigate Mr
Liu’s claims that he was assigned general cleaning work within the
temple by his employer even though he was employed as a religious
worker.
By sharing his story, he wants to caution other foreign workers
against using fake documents when applying for jobs. “Now I must
return to China, and it’ll be harder to support my family. It’s not
worth the trouble,” he said.
Meanwhile, Budi Centre’s abbot, Venerable Hui Kuan confirmed
that Mr Liu used to work in the centre.
When queried on the fake documents, he said, “How are we to know
if they real or fake? When he applied for the job, this is what we
got.” He declined to comment further.
On the other hand, the
Singapore Buddhist Federation’s secretary-general,
Venerable Seck Kwang Phing, told the same paper that he was
shocked to hear about the story and it was the first time he heard
of a foreign worker posing as a monk.
However, he said that the federation will not be taking action
against Budi Centre as it employed workers on its own and not
through the federation. But, Venerable Seck added that temples and
centres must stringently check the documents of potential
employees.
Source:
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2011/02/10/man-uses-fake-monk-certificate-to-work-in-singapore/
