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7 Raids Netting 61 Immigration Offenders
At a time when most people would be fast asleep, a group of immigration offenders (IOs) woke up to find that their days of evading the arms of Singapore’s law enforcers have ended.
2 In the early morning of 10 Apr 2007, enforcement officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) mounted a series of seven raids island-wide, netting the arrest of a total of 61 IOs and 3 harbourers. The raids brought our officers to different localities in Singapore, ranging from Woodlands to Bedok, Geylang, Bah Soon Pah Road, as well as Ang Mo Kio. The entire operation was completed in about four hours.
3 The swiftness of the raids caught the IOs by surprise. While many of those arrested were barely awake, some of the more sober IOs tried to evade the ICA officers by quickly hiding in kitchen cabinets and bedroom cupboards. Their feeble attempts were to no avail. One nimble guy even attempted to leap onto an eighth floor parapet to evade capture, but was quickly pulled back by our dexterous officers.
4 The arrested IOs were mainly living in HDB flats, while a group of them were found residing in a run-down building. Of the 61 IOs arrested, three of them were females. The IOs’ ages range from 20 – 52 years old and are nationals from India, Bangladesh and the People’s Republic of China. Preliminary investigations showed that they were working mainly as general workers, construction workers, gardeners and cleaners, earning an irregular income of about $18 to $45 daily. All the IOs have been referred to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for further investigations.
Related penalties
5 ICA takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners to 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 of three strokes of the cane.
6 ICA would also like to remind the public that it is an offence to offer shelter and employment to immigration offenders. Homeowners can make use of ICA’s online checking system, called “VERIFI” (or Verification of Foreigner Immigration Status) to verify the immigration passes of their prospective tenants. VERIFI can be accessed through ICA’s internet website: http://www.ica.gov.sg and allows users to receive an instantaneous reply on the validity of the immigration passes presented to them. Similarly, MOM has a system to allow the checking on the validity of work passes at its website: http://www.mom.gov.sg. Everyone has a part to play in keeping Singapore safe and secure. We urge members of public with information regarding immigration offenders to call ICA at Tel: 1800-391 6150 or contact the Police.
2 In the early morning of 10 Apr 2007, enforcement officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) mounted a series of seven raids island-wide, netting the arrest of a total of 61 IOs and 3 harbourers. The raids brought our officers to different localities in Singapore, ranging from Woodlands to Bedok, Geylang, Bah Soon Pah Road, as well as Ang Mo Kio. The entire operation was completed in about four hours.
3 The swiftness of the raids caught the IOs by surprise. While many of those arrested were barely awake, some of the more sober IOs tried to evade the ICA officers by quickly hiding in kitchen cabinets and bedroom cupboards. Their feeble attempts were to no avail. One nimble guy even attempted to leap onto an eighth floor parapet to evade capture, but was quickly pulled back by our dexterous officers.
4 The arrested IOs were mainly living in HDB flats, while a group of them were found residing in a run-down building. Of the 61 IOs arrested, three of them were females. The IOs’ ages range from 20 – 52 years old and are nationals from India, Bangladesh and the People’s Republic of China. Preliminary investigations showed that they were working mainly as general workers, construction workers, gardeners and cleaners, earning an irregular income of about $18 to $45 daily. All the IOs have been referred to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for further investigations.
Related penalties
5 ICA takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners to 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 of three strokes of the cane.
6 ICA would also like to remind the public that it is an offence to offer shelter and employment to immigration offenders. Homeowners can make use of ICA’s online checking system, called “VERIFI” (or Verification of Foreigner Immigration Status) to verify the immigration passes of their prospective tenants. VERIFI can be accessed through ICA’s internet website: http://www.ica.gov.sg and allows users to receive an instantaneous reply on the validity of the immigration passes presented to them. Similarly, MOM has a system to allow the checking on the validity of work passes at its website: http://www.mom.gov.sg. Everyone has a part to play in keeping Singapore safe and secure. We urge members of public with information regarding immigration offenders to call ICA at Tel: 1800-391 6150 or contact the Police.