SINGAPORE: Twelve Cupcakes founder Daniel Ong was charged in court on Tuesday (Dec 29) with breaching employment laws, in the latest of legal troubles for the homegrown bakery chain.
Ong, 45, received 24 counts under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act for offences allegedly committed while he was at the helm of the cupcake chain.
AdvertisementAdvertisementHe is accused of contravening work pass conditions including by underpaying foreign employees.
Former radio DJ Ong married Miss Singapore Universe 2001 Jaime Teo in 2007, and both of them set up Twelve Cupcakes in 2011. They divorced in 2016 and sold the company a few months later to India-based Dhunseri Group, which grew the brand to 35 outlets in Singapore today.
Teo is also set to be charged later on Tuesday.
Twelve Cupcakes, under its new ownership, pleaded guilty earlier this month to underpaying seven employees about S$114,000 over two years between December 2016 and November 2018.
AdvertisementAdvertisement[h=3]READ: Twelve Cupcakes pleads guilty to underpaying foreign employees, prosecution seeks S$127,000 fine[/h]In mitigation, the new owners' lawyer said they had continued the practice that was installed by previous management, by indicating on paper a salary that was higher than what the workers actually received.
The prosecution is seeking a fine of S$127,000 for Twelve Cupcakes for 15 charges, with another 14 charges taken into consideration. Sentencing for the firm has been adjourned to January.
If found guilty of contravening work pass conditions, Ong and Teo could be jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$10,000, or both per charge.
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