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ICA’s Encounter with Man with Impressive Appendage
Case 1
We were so impressed that we had to arrest him to take a closer at how he did it.
2. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had received a tip-off that a man would be carrying forged Singapore identity cards and other passes into Singapore. On 24 January 2008, at around 6.35am, we spotted him seeking immigration clearance at the counter in the arrival bus hall of the Woodlands Checkpoint. He did not know that we had been waiting for him. After his immigration clearance, ICA officers quickly pounced on him and escorted him to the office for investigations.
3. In the course of the search, ICA officers found a stack of cards bundled together with rubber bands in his underwear, tucked at the crotch. The bundle of cards consisted of Singapore blue identity cards, assorted work passes, photocopies of bio-data pages of passports issued by China, and Safety Orientation Certificate cards. The 42-year-old Singaporean was immediately placed under arrest.
4. During his interview, he admitted that he had tucked the forged cards in his underwear. He also revealed that he was promised a sum of S$200 if he had been successful in bringing the cards into Singapore.
5. The man and the items have been handed over to the Police for investigations.
Case 2 – Immigration offenders travel ‘cattle class’ out of Singapore
6. Perhaps they were on a tight budget, and hence they decided to sacrifice a bit of legroom and other ‘frills’ by using an outmoded way of sneaking out of Singapore – by hiding in a car boot.
7. The case was detected on 23 January 2008, at around 11.45pm, when officers stopped a Malaysia-registered car for a routine check. It did not take long for the immigration offenders, who were hiding in the boot, to be uncovered. Both of them were from China. The 26-year-old man is an overstayer, while the 39-year-old man is an illegal immigrant. The men claimed that they did not know each other, and had only met on the very day when they were supposed to sneak out of Singapore. Each of them had paid S$1,000 to be smuggled out of Singapore. The driver, a 22-year-old Malaysian, claimed that he was promised RM$200 for the job, which he agreed to take on, as he was unemployed.
8. ICA is investigating the three persons for immigration offences. The car has also been detained.
Related penalties
Document forgery
9. Section 465 of the Penal Code states that whoever commits forgery shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with a fine, or with both.
Immigration offences
10. ICA takes a serious view of immigration offences. Under the Immigration Act, the penalty for illegal entry is a jail term of up to six months, plus a minimum of three strokes of the cane. The penalties for overstaying (exceeding 90 days) are: a jail term not exceeding six months, and caning not less than three strokes. 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 of three strokes of the cane.
Potential problems caused by immigration offenders
11. ICA takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners to enter and overstay in Singapore illegally. Having already risked their lives and the tough penalties to enter and overstay, immigration offenders pose potential law and order problems as they may turn to crime when faced with difficulties in finding illegal employment and assimilating into societies. ICA will continue to work with our strategic partners to flush out immigration offenders to maintain the safety and security of the community. Members of public with information regarding immigration offenders can call ICA at Tel: 1800-391 6150.
We were so impressed that we had to arrest him to take a closer at how he did it.
2. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had received a tip-off that a man would be carrying forged Singapore identity cards and other passes into Singapore. On 24 January 2008, at around 6.35am, we spotted him seeking immigration clearance at the counter in the arrival bus hall of the Woodlands Checkpoint. He did not know that we had been waiting for him. After his immigration clearance, ICA officers quickly pounced on him and escorted him to the office for investigations.
3. In the course of the search, ICA officers found a stack of cards bundled together with rubber bands in his underwear, tucked at the crotch. The bundle of cards consisted of Singapore blue identity cards, assorted work passes, photocopies of bio-data pages of passports issued by China, and Safety Orientation Certificate cards. The 42-year-old Singaporean was immediately placed under arrest.
4. During his interview, he admitted that he had tucked the forged cards in his underwear. He also revealed that he was promised a sum of S$200 if he had been successful in bringing the cards into Singapore.
5. The man and the items have been handed over to the Police for investigations.
Case 2 – Immigration offenders travel ‘cattle class’ out of Singapore
6. Perhaps they were on a tight budget, and hence they decided to sacrifice a bit of legroom and other ‘frills’ by using an outmoded way of sneaking out of Singapore – by hiding in a car boot.
7. The case was detected on 23 January 2008, at around 11.45pm, when officers stopped a Malaysia-registered car for a routine check. It did not take long for the immigration offenders, who were hiding in the boot, to be uncovered. Both of them were from China. The 26-year-old man is an overstayer, while the 39-year-old man is an illegal immigrant. The men claimed that they did not know each other, and had only met on the very day when they were supposed to sneak out of Singapore. Each of them had paid S$1,000 to be smuggled out of Singapore. The driver, a 22-year-old Malaysian, claimed that he was promised RM$200 for the job, which he agreed to take on, as he was unemployed.
8. ICA is investigating the three persons for immigration offences. The car has also been detained.
Related penalties
Document forgery
9. Section 465 of the Penal Code states that whoever commits forgery shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with a fine, or with both.
Immigration offences
10. ICA takes a serious view of immigration offences. Under the Immigration Act, the penalty for illegal entry is a jail term of up to six months, plus a minimum of three strokes of the cane. The penalties for overstaying (exceeding 90 days) are: a jail term not exceeding six months, and caning not less than three strokes. 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 of three strokes of the cane.
Potential problems caused by immigration offenders
11. ICA takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners to enter and overstay in Singapore illegally. Having already risked their lives and the tough penalties to enter and overstay, immigration offenders pose potential law and order problems as they may turn to crime when faced with difficulties in finding illegal employment and assimilating into societies. ICA will continue to work with our strategic partners to flush out immigration offenders to maintain the safety and security of the community. Members of public with information regarding immigration offenders can call ICA at Tel: 1800-391 6150.