The managing director of Raj's Banana Leaf Restaurant in Bangsar was fined a total of RM5,000 by a Magistrate’s Court in Kuala Lumpur today for hiring two foreign workers from India without informing the Labour Department.

The two workers were filmed washing metal plates with water from a puddle on the road, in a video that went viral on social media in May.

Mohd Rizal Abdul Rahim, 40, who is a director of Intercompass Sdn Bhd, the company that owns the restaurant, pleaded guilty to two separate charges of not informing the Labour Department about the hiring of the two foreign workers.

The department has to be informed for the purpose of recording the payment of workers’ wages.

The offence was committed by the company at the Labour Department office in Menara Perkeso, Ampang, at 11am on Jan 22 this year.

The charge is under Section 60K (1) of the Employment Act 1955, whereby the company is liable to face a maximum fine of RM10,000 if convicted.

Magistrate Wong Chai Sim imposed a fine of RM2,500 for each of the two charges or, in default, two months’ jail.

Labour Department prosecuting officer Mohd Dzahiruddin Mat Salleh appeared for the prosecution.

According to the facts of the case, the employer was asked to appear before the Labour Department and when checked further, he could not produce any documents related to the workers named Suresh Chinniah and Rajalingan Kumarasamy, who are not registered with the department.

It is understood the company may face further charges from the Health Department as well.