Staff Reporter

Phuentsholing court yesterday sentenced the construction site supervisor who brought in three foreign workers illegally to work at his site on May 26. 

The court sentenced the site supervisor, Ugyen Wangchuk to 4 years, 11 months and 29 days. 

Due to lack of adequate evidence, the owner of the construction site, Jigme Drukpa, could not be convicted for now. However, he has not been acquitted and may be charged when additional evidence is obtained. 

Three foreign workers without any documents issued by the Department of Immigration were apprehended by the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) on 26 May 2020 at a private construction site at Pekarzhing under Phuentsholing Thromde. All 3 workers had entered the country clandestinely in collusion with the site supervisor.

The 3 foreign workers and the site supervisor, who is a Bhutanese citizen, were immediately quarantined on May 26 at their own cost. They were tested negative for Covid-19 the next day.

A press release from the Covid-19 task force in Phuentsholing stated, “ We hope that such selfish and reckless acts will not be repeated at a time when the entire nation is working hard to prevent the importation and transmission of Covid-19 in Bhutan.”

The task force urges the public to comply with the notifications and measures in place to mitigate the risks of importation and transmission of Covid-19 in the country.