On 9 September 2009, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers successfully foiled an attempt by a 41-year old Chinese national, Yang Renai, to depart Singapore illegally by hiding in a car boot under the concealment of oversized speakers. Yang and the Malaysian driver, Su Ting Chai, age 29 years old were arrested on the spot and both have been charged in Court for offences under the Immigration Act (Cap 133).

2   Yang was charged with the offence of entering Singapore without a valid pass under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act (Cap 133) on 11 September. He was convicted and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and six strokes of the cane. Su was charged with the offence of engaging in the business of conveying illegal immigrants under Section 57(1)(c) of the Immigration Act (Cap 133) on the same day. He was convicted on 17 September and sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment and four strokes of the cane.

3   The ICA officers did not stop there after the successful interception. In the course of investigating the two subjects, officers obtained useful and important leads of the syndicate at work. The ICA officers embarked on a discreet investigation and were led to a crucial link which suggested that there was a middleman involved in this illicit activity of conveying immigration offenders out of the Republic.

4   Officers took painstaking efforts in gathering information and analyzing all records that were available. It did not take them long to establish the identity of the person. This key person was subsequently established to be a 36-year old Malaysian. He was involved in orchestrating such arrangements for immigration offenders. Acting as a middleman, he had collected $500 from Yang and made the necessary arrangements with the driver. With sufficient information on hand, the officers were ready to move in on the arrest.

5   On 23 September, the subject of interest was spotted clearing immigration at the Woodlands checkpoint. He was placed under arrest immediately. In less than 48 hours, he was produced before the Court and charged for engaging in the business of conveying illegal immigrations under Section 57(1)(c) of the Immigration Act (Cap 133). His case will be heard in Court on 30 September.

6  The ICA takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners who overstay or enter Singapore illegally. Under the Immigration Act (Cap 133), the penalties for overstaying or illegal entry are a jail term of up to six months plus a minimum three strokes of the cane. In cases where caning cannot be administered, the offender will be fined up to $6,000. The penalty for conveying illegal immigrants in or out of Singapore is a jail term of two to five years, plus a minimum three strokes of the cane. The ICA will not relent on our efforts to ferret out undesirable persons and to stamp out any attempts by smuggling syndicates.

END OF NEWS RELEASE
IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
27 September 2009