Migrant worker given jail term over bogus work injury claim fails in his High Court appeal
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 04 Dec 2025
Author: Selina Lum
The court said the prosecution presented sufficient evidence to prove that Khabirul was told not to go to work and that he did not attend a work briefing that day.
A migrant worker who was sentenced to 13 weeks’ jail after he was found to have staged an accident to make a false claim for work injury compensation has failed in his appeal to the High Court.
Islam Mohammad Khabirul, a 34-year-old shipyard worker from Bangladesh, had appealed against his conviction on three charges – one for making a fraudulent claim and two for making false statements to a Manpower Ministry (MOM) investigation officer.
Khabirul’s employer and co-workers testified during his trial that he had been instructed not to go to work that day.
But he alleged that they were in cahoots to implicate him, and that his employer had masterminded the conspiracy to cover up his accident and avoid regulatory scrutiny.
This argument was rejected by High Court judge Vincent Hoong, who dismissed Khabirul’s appeal on Dec 3.
Justice Hoong said the prosecution presented sufficient evidence to prove that Khabirul was told not to go to work and that he did not attend a work briefing that day.
This supported the prosecution’s case that Khabirul was only at the workplace to stage an accident so that he could make a false claim for compensation.
The judge said Khabirul told multiple lies in his MOM statements.
For instance, he initially said that on the day in question, he reported for work at 7.30am. After he was confronted with the entry records, he said he had arrived at the shipyard at 4.43am to borrow money from his uncle who worked there.
Justice Hoong added that Khabirul’s account of the accident was “inherently improbable”.
Moreover, some of the first responders and doctors who attended to him described his behaviour as being suggestive of feigning injuries.
A paramedic testified that Khabirul had pretended to be unconscious.
A doctor at Changi General Hospital observed that the pain displayed by Khabirul was disproportionate to his supposed injuries.
The worker also refused treatments and tests that were offered to him by doctors.
Khabirul was employed by a company called Vigour Technologies and worked on a vessel named Heerema Sleipnir at Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard.
On March 1, 2019, he entered the yard at 4.43am, although he would typically go in after 6.45am on a workday.
He also did not attend a meeting held at 7.30am for those who were supposed to be working that day.
While the briefing was in progress, he was found lying on the tween deck – the space between two decks – of the vessel.
He claimed to have suffered injuries to his neck, back, right shoulder, left thigh and knee.
On April 11, 2019, he filed a claim against his employer under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA).
In his statement to the MOM officer, he alleged that he fell down the stairs after he was hit on the leg by a bundle of insulation.
In a subsequent statement on June 27 that year, Khabirul stated that he had not heard instructions by Ms Sengani Sadasivam, the director of Vigour Technologies, not to enter the yard for work on March 1.
The prosecution’s case was based on the testimony of Ms Sengani and several employees, which was supported by WhatsApp messages exchanged between the various witnesses.
The evidence showed that on Feb 28, 2019, Ms Sengani wanted to speak to five workers, including Khabirul, about a spike in the number of WICA claims against the company.
She phoned an employee, Mr Chowdhury Mohammad Nasu, to instruct him to collect the yard access cards from the workers and to tell them not to go to work the next day as she wanted to talk to them at the dormitory.
She also sent a message to Mr Nasu with the names of the workers.
Mr Nasu then asked Khabirul and another worker to give him their access cards, but they refused.
Later that night, Ms Sengani spoke to the five workers through the speaker of Mr Nasu’s mobile phone.
Her instructions in English, telling the workers not to go to work the next day, were explained to the workers by Mr Nasu in Bengali.
One of the five workers, Mr Robin Md, also testified about this call, which took place in the corridor outside their rooms.
Khabirul, who was represented by Mr Anil Balchandani, argued during his appeal that certain WhatsApp messages were edited by Ms Sengani.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhou Yihong said this claim was speculative, as no expert evidence has been presented to determine if there was tampering.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
Islam Mohammad Khabirul v Public Prosecutor [2025] SGHC 238
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