The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Monday (July 21) that it was looking into a fraudulent work injury claim made against EatGreen, the operator of eatery Sumo Salad. 

Separately, the police told AsiaOne that investigations are ongoing into the unnatural death of Jane Lee, the owner of Sumo Salad, also known as Sumo Well. 

Before her death on Saturday, Lee had made two Facebook posts about an employee who allegedly faked an injury to seek compensation against her eatery. 

In a post on Friday, she claimed that the employee “staged” an incident — claiming to have slipped and fallen while taking the escalator to dispose rubbish. 

She added: “On that day, she was supposed to leave work early, but she deliberately stayed back. It became clear to me that the accident was premeditated, likely as an attempt to file a false work injury claim.

“Their apparent strategy is to target small businesses. If they find one without proper insurance coverage, they instill fear and trying to extort money from the business owners.” 

In another Facebook post, Lee urged MOM and the police to investigate the case. 

“I fear that I will not be the last victim, and these individuals may continue to exploit other unsuspecting small businesses in similar ways,” she said.

MOM said that it was in communication with Lee and investigations are ongoing. 

The worker involved was covered under the Work Injury Compensation Act, according to the ministry. It is working with the insurer to assess the validity of the case. 

“MOM will not hesitate to take parties found culpable for abusing the WIC system to task,” it said. 

“Employers can approach MOM for help if they have concerns over fraudulent claims by their employees.” 

Under the Act, employees can make claims for work-related injuries without filing a civil suit.

MOM in its website described it as a “low-cost and quicker alternative” to common law for settling compensation claims. 

chingshijie@asiaone.com

For more original AsiaOne articles, visit here.