| Lyna Mohamad |

A LOCAL man, Hamzah bin Yahya, was sentenced to 78 weeks in jail after he failed to pay fines handed to him by the court within the six-month settlement period, for not paying his domestic helper’s salary for over two-and-a-half years.

The defendant was produced in court on December 6, 2018 for failing to pay 31 months’ worth of salary to his housemaid and was charged under Section 39 (1) of the Employment Order 2009.

Hamzah was found guilty of the offence and was handed a fine of BND18,600 or 62 weeks’ imprisonment in default of payment.

The court also ordered him to pay a Compensation Order of BND6,850 or serve 16 weeks’ imprisonment in default.

The defendant was given a grace period of six months to settle the fines.

He failed to settle the fines after the grace period and was again produced in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday and sentenced.

In view of this case, the Labour Department reminded employers to always ensure that the salaries of their employees are paid within seven days from the salary date.

Any enquiries or complaints relating to labour issues can be forwarded to the Labour Department’s Enforcement Division (LED) at 2381848 during office hours or the 7298989 hotline after working hours, or via the department’s email.