SINGAPORE- New Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say on Monday wrote an entry in his blog to explain how the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) treats forged degrees and those from degree mills in Employment Pass and S Pass applications.

His explanation included an infographic (see below) and the potential penalty for providing forged degrees.

Those who provide fraudulent educational documents will be barred for life from working in Singapore.

Those with degrees from an unaccredited institution, will be assessed based on their experience and salary criteria.

His blog post came after Non-Constituency MP Gerald Giam had submitted a Parliamentary Question on Monday about the checks that are done when processing S Pass and Employment Pass applications.

Mr Lim provided a written answer for Parliament, and said that to detect forged qualifications, his ministry conducts internal database checks, as well as external checks through third-party screening agencies, direct verifications with the issuing institutions, and by requiring the employer to show proof that they have verified that the submitted qualifications are genuine.

He added that employers have a primary responsibility to ensure the authenticity and quality of the academic qualifications of the foreigners they wish to hire.

jalmsab@sph.com.sg