Third firm linked to Indian national director emerges in migrant worker wage crisis
ACRA records show VVR Plant Engineering shares same Westech Building address and director as KPA Engineering and SK Industries — as corporate network linked to a single permanent resident expands to seven companies
SINGAPORE: A third company has emerged in the growing migrant worker wage dispute, with workers from VVR Plant Engineering Pte Ltd now reporting unpaid wages — adding to claims already filed by approximately 400 workers employed by KPA Engineering Pte Ltd and SK Industries Pte Ltd.
Business profile documents retrieved by The Online Citizen from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) on 25 June 2026 confirm that VVR Plant Engineering (UEN: 202022407M) shares the same registered office address as KPA Engineering and SK Industries — unit #08-10, Westech Building, 237 Pandan Loop — and lists the same director: Ramu Palani Velu, an Indian national holding Singapore permanent residency.
The Straits Times has identified Ramu as a director of seven companies in Singapore, all described as providing air-conditioning, plumbing, and building-related services.
A Bangladeshi worker's account
Islam Md Rafiul, a 20-year-old Bangladeshi national employed by VVR Plant Engineering, told The Straits Times at Tuas View Dormitory on 24 June 2026 that he had not been paid for three months.
Islam said he arrived in Singapore approximately six months ago and was engaged as a worker at S$800 per month.
"I sent home about S$500 to S$600 to my family. The last three months, I did not receive my salary and could not send money back to Bangladesh," he said.
"I'm supporting my family, and I'm afraid to let my family know what happened."
VVR Plant Engineering — what ACRA records show
ACRA records dated 25 June 2026 show that VVR Plant Engineering was formerly known as VMD Integrated Pte Ltd, changing its name on 21 September 2022. It was incorporated on 2 August 2020 and is listed as a live company.
Its primary registered business activity is general contractors for building construction and major upgrading works (SSIC 41001) — a construction sector classification. Its secondary activity is process and industrial plant engineering design and consultancy services.
Ramu Palani Velu is listed as director, appointed on 5 November 2025, and holds 100,000 ordinary shares — making him the sole shareholder. The company's paid-up capital is S$100,000.
The company's registered address was updated to the Westech Building unit on 5 November 2025 — the same date Ramu was appointed as director, suggesting the address change and directorship transfer occurred simultaneously.
A Singapore citizen, Alagarsamy Senraj, is listed as company secretary since the company's incorporation in 2020, and remains in that role.
How Ramu acquired VVR Plant Engineering
The Straits Times reported that VVR Plant Engineering was previously owned by Indian nationals Ravi Victor and Ravi Vijayarani, and their Singaporean son, Ravi Martin Abraham. The family sold the company to Ramu after being introduced to him through a third party.
Martin, 23, told the newspaper the family had been seeking to sell the company, which they valued primarily for its access to work permits for the specialised process sector — permits that allow for process construction and maintenance works at facilities including those on Jurong Island.
"It is not easy to obtain the permit for new companies, so we thought he bought our family business for that reason," Martin said.
He added that when the sale was concluded, Ramu indicated he did not need the company's existing workers, who numbered between 15 and 20 at the time. The family has had no contact with Ramu since.
The acquisition of VVR Plant Engineering — with its established work permit access for the process sector — in November 2025 adds a further dimension to the corporate network now under scrutiny. It raises the question of whether the acquisition was motivated in part by the value of the company's existing regulatory approvals and work permit entitlements.
The full corporate network
ACRA records reviewed by TOC, combined with reporting by The Straits Times, show that Ramu Palani Velu is connected to the following entities:
KPA Engineering Pte Ltd (UEN: 201426210N), incorporated September 2014, paid-up capital S$1 million, primary activity manufacturing and repair of air-conditioning equipment.
SK Industries Pte Ltd (UEN: 202328151R), incorporated July 2023, paid-up capital S$200,000, primary activity wholesale trade.
KPA Services Pte Ltd (UEN: 201613558R), incorporated May 2016, paid-up capital S$10,000, primary activity installation of plumbing and air-conditioning systems.
VVR Plant Engineering Pte Ltd (UEN: 202022407M), incorporated August 2020, paid-up capital S$100,000, primary activity general building construction.
Comfort Air Engineering Pte Ltd, formerly Velmurugan Trading, incorporated 2019, paid-up capital S$100,000, Ramu listed as sole director.
KMS Integrated, GM Integrated, and HVS Industries — three companies registered in a single day in 2025, with Ramu listed as sole director. KMS Integrated was registered with S$100,000 in capital; GM Integrated and HVS Industries with S$10,000 each.
All four entities for which TOC has obtained ACRA records — KPA Engineering, SK Industries, KPA Services, and VVR Plant Engineering — share the same registered office at Westech Building, 237 Pandan Loop.
Director's registered address found rented out
The Straits Times reported that a visit to Ramu's registered residential address at a private estate in Hillview on 23 June 2026 found the unit had been rented out to a doctor for approximately two years.
A security guard at the condominium told the newspaper that creditors had been visiting the estate in recent months, presenting claims of unpaid loans and payment defaults.
They were refused entry to the unit occupied by the tenant.
Ramu had previously registered his businesses to a flat in Marine Crescent. The newspaper reported that a lawyer's letter addressed to Ramu was found placed at the front door of that address.
The Straits Times said it had made multiple attempts to contact Ramu by telephone, at his homes, and at the addresses where his companies are registered, without receiving a response.
NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng stated publicly on 24 June 2026 that tripartite partners had been attempting to contact the employers involved in the wage dispute, adding: "I understand that they may not be in the country."
Day-to-day operations and a second named individual
A worker identified only as Sam, employed by KPA Engineering, told The Straits Times that while workers knew Ramu as the senior figure behind the companies, daily operations were handled by an Indian national referred to as Moorthy.
"We have been trying to contact Moorthy, but he has not responded," Sam said.
ACRA records for KPA Engineering list a second director, Krishnamurthy Sundaramoorthy, appointed in October 2020, who holds 300,000 ordinary shares. Records indicate he is not a Singapore citizen or permanent resident. He resides at the same Hillview Avenue address as Sundaramoorthy Komathy, the minority shareholder of SK Industries.
An earlier director, Sundaramoorthy Komathy, served alongside Ramu between 2016 and 2018 before departing.
Three companies registered in a single day
The Straits Times reported that in 2025, Ramu registered three companies — KMS Integrated, GM Integrated, and HVS Industries — on the same day, with himself as sole director of each.
The timing of those registrations, in the same year he also acquired VVR Plant Engineering, represents a significant expansion of the corporate network in the twelve months before the wage crisis became public.
MOM has confirmed it is investigating KPA Engineering and SK Industries.
The Straits Times reported it has contacted MOM to determine whether the other companies linked to Ramu are also under investigation, and to establish the total number of migrant workers employed across the seven entities. MOM has not yet responded to those queries.
TOC has separately submitted a comprehensive set of questions to MOM on 24 June 2026 regarding the sector classification of work permits issued to the companies, the current residency status of the directors, and the mechanisms available to protect workers' salary claims. No response has been received at the time of publication.
